European court stays Gary McKinnon's US extradition

THE European Court of Human Rights has temporarily stayed the extradition of accused UK hacker Gary McKinnon to face computer abuse and cyber-terrorism charges in the US.

McKinnon's lawyer Karen Todner said the court in Strasbourg, France ruled that he should be permitted to stay in the UK until it reconvenes to again consider his appeal on August 28.

The Law Lords denied McKinnon's final UK appeal on July 30, raising the likelihood that he will be handed over to US prosecutors for trial and almost sure conviction and prison time.

He then petitioned the European Court of Human Rights, asking it to delay his extradition for up to two years until it gets around to hearing his appeal.

Embarrassed US authorities want to make a chillingly extreme example of the pot-smoking, UFO-obsessed computer hacker McKinnon by convicting him of " terrorism" and sentencing him to serve up to 60 years in gaol.

For an exclusive look at footage from the as-yet-unreleased Inaugural INQUIRER Pubcast, featuring discussion on the plight of Gary McKinnon, go here. µ

See Also Lords throw McKinnon to the dogs