Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker, will learn later today whether he will be extradited to the US over the charges of hacking into US government (military) computers. Home Secretary Theresa May will announce the decision on the Gary McKinnon extradition, which has been a case that the detractors have highlighted as a ‘classic case’ of it being too easy for the US to ‘demand’ the transfer of British citizens to face criminal charges in the US.

McKinnon, who has confessed accessing US governmental computers, but has remarked that he was only seeking data about UFOs, has been battling against extradition to the US since 2006. McKinnon has been accused in the US of perpetrating the ‘biggest military hack of all time.’ If convicted in the US, McKinnon could encounter up to 60 years in prison.

Reports have also suggested that Theresa May would proclaim alterations in Britain’s extradition arrangements with the US, which would make it likelier that a British citizen would face trial at home rather than being flung into a plane to face trial in the US.

46-year-old Gary McKinnon’s mother, Janis Sharp, has stated that their fight against extradition was so inhumane that it was equivalent to ‘waterboarding of the mind’, referring to the notorious CIA ‘torture’ technique used on Guantanamo Bay terror suspects.

Theresa May will pronounce whether McKinnon’s extradition to America can be obstructed on medical grounds as he is a victim of Asperger’s syndrome, which is a high-functioning type of autism. Health specialists dread that McKinnon could commit suicide if sent to the US.

Janis Sharp has remarked that the US government seemed to dilute its stance this summer. Governmental adviser, John Arquilla, had voiced that the US administration should be employing expert computer hackers like McKinnon to initiate cyber warfare against terrorists. Instead, the reality was that McKinnon was being prosecuted, voiced Arquilla.

PM David Cameron had talked about McKinnon in March to US President Barack Obama, saying that he wanted the White House to reassess its stance on the matter.

Related:
American self-defence instructor banned from UK
G4S chief Nick Buckles to face MPs over Olympics security fiasco