McKinnon's judicial review looms

 

Gallery

By Stuart Turton

Posted on 14 Jul 2009 at 09:40

Gary McKinnon's defence team are to set to apply for a judicial review of his case today, as they try to prevent his extradition to the US.

The team will present their case to the Royal Courts of Justice, arguing that McKinnon's Asperger's Syndrome was not considered in the original decision to extradite him to the US to stand trial for hacking into military networks.

If successful, McKinnon could be forced to stand trial in the UK where he would face a maximum sentence of 10 years, as opposed to the possible 70 being threatened by the Americans.

The Daily Mail is also reporting that the Conservatives will force a vote in Parliament tomorrow objecting to his extradition. The paper is reporting that the vote has the backing of the Liberal Democrats and Labour backbenchers.

McKinnon stands accused of hacking into US systems 97 times, causing millions of dollars worth of damage. McKinnon claims he was merely looking for evidence of aliens - though he doesn't deny the hacking charges.

For a complete review of McKinnon's case so far read our feature.