Home secretary Amber Rudd has ordered the extradition of alleged hacker Lauri Love to the United States. If convicted, Love could face up to 99 years in prison.
The hacker and activist, who was involved in #OpLastResort after the death of hacktivist Aaron Swartz, stands accused of hacking Nasa, the FBI and US Federal Reserve, allegedly by creating backdoors within their respective networks. His alleged actions purportedly caused millions of dollars' worth of damage. As well as potential time in jail, Love also faces a fine of up to $9 million (£6.2m).
Love's legal team now has 14 days to request leave to appeal his extradition. If granted, a full hearing date will be set for early 2017. Speaking to WIRED in October, LOVE said "the extradition will not go through."
Speaking to the BBC's Today Programme, Love explained his issue with the extradition. “What I’m hoping is that the extradition will be refused and like anybody else here arrested in the UK I’ll face a trial here and be able to make a case.”
“The problem is that I’m facing 99 years in prison in America where medical experts have testified that there’s a serious risk that I’ll die, so we were kind of hoping the UK government would have tried to stop that. Unfortunately the home secretary’s hands were tied.”
Read more: MPs write letter to President Obama asking him to block Lauri Love's extradition to the US
Lauri Love suffers from Asperger's syndrome and has struggled with depression throughout his life. Speaking to the Telegraph in June, his father, Alexander Love, said, “What worries us most is that my son has stated emphatically that he will kill himself if he gets extradited to America.”
Sarah Harrison, acting director of the Courage Foundation, which has been legally supporting Love, said she was "dismayed" Rudd has improved the extradition request. “This puts him directly in harm's way and fails to protect his human rights,” Harrison continued. “The home secretary's decision upholds a one-sided extradition treaty that leaves UK citizens without proper protections against the threat of US prosecution.”
“The US has ruthlessly persecuted hackers and digital activists for years, and nobody expects that to improve under President Trump. Theresa May set a good example by protecting Gary McKinnon back in 2012. For a home secretary in her government now to willingly send a brilliant and vulnerable UK citizen to Donald Trump’s America beggars belief.”
Love's case mirrors that of hacker Gary McKinnon, who fought an extradition charge to the US for years until then home secretary Theresa May blocked it. McKinnon also suffered from Asperger's.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
