May’s ‘done nothing’ to block hack suspect’s extradition to the U.S.
THERESA May has failed to ask Donald Trump to stop the extradition of vulnerable hacking suspect Lauri Love to the US, his supporters claim.
Experts warn the Asperger’s sufferer could commit suicide if he is sent to America to be tried on charges which carry a possible 99-year prison sentence.
More than 70 MPs, including a Government minister, have now written to Attorney General Jeremy Wright demanding he raise Mr Love’s case with the US authorities.
The MPs want Mr Love, 32, who studied at the University of Glasgow, to be tried in Britain, where his alleged crimes took place.
Mr Love – who lives with his father, a Scots baptist minister, and his Finnish mother in Suffolk – is accused of 12 computer hacking charges including accessing data from the FBI, the US central bank and Nasa.
If found guilty, as well as a 99-year prison sentence, he could face a £7million fine. He is accused of being a ‘hacktivist’ – part of an online community of political cyber protesters.
The US indictment charges him with computer hacking in order to acquire and make confidential information public, and ‘aggravated’ identity theft to access databases.
A copy of the letter to the Attorney General, signed by 73 MPs, has also been sent to Mrs May. It comes a week ahead of a High Court appeal against the decision to extradite him.
‘If Mr Love has committed a crime, he should be prosecuted and justice should be served. We believe if he is extradited, there is a great probability he will end his own life,’ they write. ‘We have no doubt in mind there will be
‘Not made any representation’
potentially fatal consequences if the United States chooses to pursue this extradition.’
The MPs say they have ‘deep concern’ for Mr Love over his history of mental health issues, including depression and psychosis, as well as Asperger’s.
The letter is co-signed by Labour MP Barry Sheerman, Tory MP Heidi Allen and Mr Love’s Tory constituency MP Matt Hancock, the Minister for Digital.
As home secretary, Mrs May prevented the extradition of computer expert Gary McKinnon – whose case closely resembled Mr Love’s – following a Daily Mail campaign.
Mr Love’s extradition appeal will be heard by the Lord Chief Justice and will focus on a legal principle introduced by Mrs May after the case of Mr McKinnon.
The principle, known as the Forum Bar, states that individuals should be prosecuted in Britain if their crime was committed here.
Mr Love allegedly committed his crimes in his parents’ home, while Mr McKinnon allegedly hacked US websites from London. Mrs May granted Mr McKinnon a pardon but removed the power of the home secretary to do so in future, transferring it to the courts through the Forum Bar.
But in 2016, it failed its first legal test after a district judge ruled Mr Love could still be extradited.
Next week, the most senior judicial figure in England and Wales will hear Mr Love’s appeal and decide whether the Bar was correctly applied.
In their letter, signatories pointed out that if US prosecutors are successful, Mr Love would be the first UK-based accused hacker to face trial in America. The UK has prosecuted at least 13 computer hackers accused of interfering with US computer systems who did not face extradition requests.
The MPs asked: ‘Why is the United States insistent on Mr Love’s extradition despite the UK having a proven track record of appropriately prosecuting, sentencing and rehabilitating individuals who have committed computer hacking offences against the US?’
They conclude: ‘Please make representations to your American counterparts, if you have not already done so, to request that they take account of all the relevant medical evidence and either cede jurisdiction in Mr Love’s case to the UK or facilitate a deferred prosecution agreement.’
Naomi Colvin, of campaign group Courage Foundation, said: ‘To the best of my knowledge, and that of Lauri’s legal team and his family, the UK Government has not made any kind of representation to Donald Trump asking for us to be able to try Lauri here.’
Last year, 114 MPs wrote to former US president Barack Obama and the US ambassador to the UK to request the extradition order be withdrawn so Mr Love can be tried in Britain. Miss Colvin said: ‘More than a hundred MPs signed a letter to Barack Obama last year about Lauri and I don’t think the UK Government did anything to act on those concerns either.’
Lord Chief Justice Ian Burnett is likely to rule on Mr Love’s case in the New Year. If he is unsuccessful, he can take his case to the Supreme Court and then the European Court of Human Rights.
A Government spokesman said: ‘It is for a judge to decide on extradition cases and Mr Love’s appeal will be heard by the High Court later this month.’