May accused of failing to halt extradition to US of alleged hacker
Theresa May has been accused of failing to ask Donald Trump to halt extradition action against alleged computer hacker Lauri Love as MPS raised concerns he would be at high risk of suicide.
The cross- party group of 73 MPS warned there was a “great probability” Mr Love, who has Asp erg er syndrome, would end his own life if sent to the US to face trial over alleged cyber crimes which lawyers say could carry a sentence of up to 99 years if convicted.
The 32- year- old, who l ives with his parents in Suffolk, is alleged to have stolen huge amounts of data from US agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the US army, the department of defence, Nasa and the FBI, in a spate of online attacks in 2012 and 2013.
In their letter to Attorney General Jeremy Wright, the MPS said “eminent exp er ts” judged Mr Love would be at “very high” risk of suicide if sent to the US for trial and urged him to pass on their concerns to his American counterparts.
Their warnings echo worries raised in October 2016, when more than 100 MPS wrote to then- president Barack Obama calling on him to block Mr Love’s extradition, stressing their“deep concern” for his safety.
A High Court judge is due to consider an appeal over his extradition later this month.
However, Mr Love’s supporters said the Prime Minister had failed to heed the warning sand raise the case with the president in the hope he would intervene and order US authorities to allow Mr Love to be tried in the UK.
The campaigners said there had been “widespread public concern” over the potential consequences of Mr Love’ s extradition.
Naomi Colvin of t he Cour- age Foundation, which runs Mr Love’s defence fund and support campaign, 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 instead of him being extradited to the United States.”
Home Secretary Amber Rudd authorised Mr Love’s ex tradition to the US in November 2016 and a Home Office statement said at the time she had “carefully considered all relevant matters”.
Mr Love’s case bears similarities with that of Glassg ow-born Gary Mckinnon, another alleged cyber- hacker with Asperger syndrome, who eventually had his extradition blocked by Mrs May in 2012, when she was Home Secretary, after a decade- long legal battle.