Gary McKinnon, who has Asperger’s, faces extradition to the United States to stand trial for allegedly hacking into US Defense computer systems. The Home Secretary took this decision without regard to the impact of Gary's Asperger syndrome in relation to his case and apparently without regard to her duties under the Disability Discrimination Act and the Disability Equality Duty (more info below).
The decision also has severe human rights implications - the penalty Gary would face in the US if found guilty would be wholly disproportionate to the crime he has allegedly committed, not to mention the fact that his lawyers fear he would become psychotic or suicidal if jailed in the States. Human Rights experts also say our extradition law is in need of an overhaul and that Gary should be tried in the UK (the Director of Public Prosections says he doesn't have enough evidence to prosecute him here!)
RADAR finds this totally unacceptable and is supporting the campaign to stop his extradition.
The High Court has granted Gary a judicial review of the Home Secretary’s decision so that the human rights implications and impact of his Asperger’s can be assessed. This is scheduled to take place on 9 and 10 June.
What can you do to help?
Please sign the petition launched by the National Autistic Society on the Number 10 web site and watch out for future campaign actions, likely to include direct mail to MPs.
The petition reads: We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to lead his Government in providing protection against extradition for people with autism and Asperger syndrome in the criminal justice system, particularly in the case of Gary McKinnon.
More info on the campaign can be found here courtesy of the National Autistic Society
Background – Aspergers and the DDA
Aspergers can have a number of consequences for social interaction, behaviour and communication and can involve intense absorption in a special interest. Experts believe that his Aspergers could well have impacted on Gary’s actions. It may also have contributed to his reaction on being caught when he pleaded guilty on all charges without even having a solicitor present. Under the Disability Discrimination Act Sections 21B-E public authorities such as the Home Office are prohibited from treating disabled people less favourably for a reason connected with their particular disability unless it can be justified by reference to very specific criteria (to avoid endangering the health and safety of others for example). They must also make reasonable adjustments to avoid disabled people being exposed to unreasonably adverse impacts.
Further, the Secretary of State, the Home Office and the Border and Immigration Agency have a statutory duty under S49A of the DDA to have due regard to the need to promote disability equality and avoid unlawful discrimination in carrying out their functions. In order to demonstrate that an authority has had “due regard” to the need to promote disability equality, it has to carry out an impact assessment (see Elias v Secretary of State [IRLR] 2005 788).