British hacker loses latest appeal against extradition
Thursday, 28 Aug 2008 18:43
Gerry McKinnon is alleged to have gained access to 97 top-secret computers
A British man accused of hacking into US military and Nasa computers has lost his latest appeal against extradition to the United States.
Gary McKinnon, 42, is alleged to have gained access to 97 top-secret computers between February 1st 2001 and March 19th 2002 from his home in London.
He has previously admitted to hacking into the computers but claims he was looking for information about UFOs.
The 42-year-old was arrested in 2002 but has never been charged in the UK. He lost his first appeal against his extradition on terror charges in 2006 before taking his appeal to the House of Lords and then finally the European court of human rights.
He will now face extradition in the next fortnight. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
US prosecutors allege that Mr McKinnon altered and deleted files at a naval air base shortly after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Mr McKinnon's legal team has previously called for him to be prosecuted by British authorities, alleging that US officials had said they wanted him to "fry".
"Gary McKinnon is neither a terrorist nor a terrorist sympathiser," his legal team declared.