Gary McKinnon could face torture by US Government

The UK computer expert who faces extradition to America for hacking US military computers will hear his fate next month.

Gary McKinnon appeared in court in London on Wednesday, in the latest stage in a protracted legal process. His defence has argued that he should not be extradited as he could be tried under America's tough anti-terrorism laws. This could see him sent to Guantanamo Bay and imprisoned for up to 60 years.

On Wednesday, the prosecution produced an unsigned note from the US Embassy, which they claimed was a guarantee that McKinnon would not be tried under Military Order Number One, which allows suspected terrorists to be tried under military law.

However, the defence argued that the note was not binding as it was unsigned. The defence called Clive Stafford-Smith, a US lawyer who has defended Guantanamo Bay inmates, as a witness. Stafford-Smith argued that the note would not prevent McKinnon from being treated as a terrorist.

Guardian story on the background of this case

Gary was searching for information on a UFO cover-up. Basically, what Gary used to gain access - and found time and again - were network administrators within high levels of the US government and military establishments who hadn't bothered to give themselves passwords. That's how he got in.

Excerpt from the interview:

"What was the most exciting thing you saw?" I ask.

"I found a list of officers' names," he claims, "under the heading 'Non-Terrestrial Officers'."

"Non-Terrestrial Officers?" I say.

"Yeah, I looked it up," says Gary, "and it's nowhere. It doesn't mean little green men. What I think it means is not earth-based. I found a list of 'fleet-to-fleet transfers', and a list of ship names. I looked them up. They weren't US navy ships. What I saw made me believe they have some kind of spaceship, off-planet."