McKinnon avoids UK prosecution

 

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By Asavin Wattanajantra

Posted on 26 Feb 2009 at 15:41

Pentagon hacker Gary McKinnon faces an uphill struggle to avoid being extradited to the US now that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided not to prosecute him on home turf.

The CPS today announced that it would not prosecute McKinnon in the UK for computer misuse, claiming the charges don't match the seriousness of what he's been accused of in the US.

Although there is evidence to prosecute McKinnon for nine occasions where he admitted to criminal activity, it doesn't even come close to reflecting the criminality alleged by the US authorities, according to a statement released by the CPS.

"These were not random experiments in computer hacking, but a deliberate effort to breach US defence systems at a critical time which caused well documented damage," Alison Saunders, head of the CPS Organised Crime Division, said in the statement.

"They may have been conducted from McKinnon's home computer - and in that sense there is a UK link - but the target and the damage were transatlantic."

The CPS did not consider McKinnon's diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, as the case had not reached the second stage, which focuses on whether it is in the public interest to prosecute.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, was consulted on the decision.

Earlier this week, Lord Carlie, the independent anti-terror law reviewer added his support to the growing number of people who wanted McKinnon to be tried in the UK.

If McKinnon is convicted by US courts, he could face up to 70 years in prison.