Nasa hacker wins right to appeal against extradition
Gary McKinnon, the man accused by U.S. prosecutors of "the biggest military hack of all time," has won the right to a judicial review of a Home Office decision to extradite him to the U.S.
Lord Justice Maurice Kay made the ruling at the High Court in London on Friday. The Home Office had refused to halt the extradition proceedings, despite McKinnon having been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, a condition on the autistic spectrum.
McKinnon's solicitor Karen Todner told ZDNet UK on Friday that she was "very pleased" about the High Court decision.
"It's a step in the right direction," Todner said. "We've got permission for a judicial review, and that shows we have an arguable case."
McKinnon's legal team applied for the review on the grounds that McKinnon's medical condition had not been taken into account by the Home Office or any UK court in deciding his extradition. If convicted by the U.S., McKinnon faces a 70-year sentence in a maximum security prison, his barrister Edward Fitzgearld QC has argued.
