by nomo » Mon Apr 17, 2006 1:48 pm
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4905036.stm">news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4905036.stm</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>British 'hacker' fears Guantanamo<br> <br>A British man accused of being behind the largest ever hack of US government computer networks could end up at Guantanamo Bay, his lawyer has claimed.<br><br>Gary McKinnon, from London, denies causing $700,000 (£400,000) damage to military and Nasa systems in 2001-2.<br><br>Bow Street Magistrates' Court was told the 40-year-old feared a prosecution might take place under US anti-terror laws if it agreed to his extradition.<br><br>The US said Mr McKinnon had assurances he would be tried in a federal court.<br><br>But defence lawyers said his human rights could be breached if he was sent to the US.<br><br>Mr McKinnon was remanded on bail until 10 May when District Judge Nicholas Evans will rule whether the extradition will go ahead.<br><br>'Administrative revenge'<br><br>Much of the hearing was taken up with argument over whether Mr McKinnon would be subject to Military Order Number One - a legal procedure which enables the president to specify that suspects can be detained indefinitely.<br><br>Mark Summers, representing the US government, said there was no precedent to suggest the US would breach its promises, and the court should take on "faith" the undertaking.<br><br>Defence lawyer Edmund Lawson said the US Embassy in London had provided an "unsigned and anonymous" diplomatic note and said Mr McKinnon was still "vulnerable" to such an order.<br><br>He said the US had not given a guarantee he will face a federal court trial.<br><br>"The US government wants to extract some kind of species of administrative revenge because he exposed their security systems as weak and helpless as they were," Mr Lawson added.<br><br>Mr McKinnon is accused of hacking into computers in 14 states, including at the Pentagon and naval weapon station Earle.<br><br>At an earlier hearing his lawyers suggested his actions were not malicious - he had been trying to expose lax computer security and access what he believed was withheld information about UFOs. <p></p><i></i>
