A Scot is to be extradited to the U.S. to face trial accused of hacking into Federal Bureau of Investigation computers after a ruling by a United Kingdom judge.
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Love’s lawyers say he has Asperger’s syndrome, and will be at risk of suicide if he is jailed in the U.S.
A judge ruled today that Lauri Love, 31, who has been an activist with the Occupy movement and who suffers from Asperger’s, was arrested in 2013 and charged with hacking U.S. military and Nasa computer networks.
32-year-old Lauri Love, who suffers from Asperger syndrome, is wanted by the U.S. authorities for his role in a series of cyberattacks dating back to 2012 and 2013.
The judgment, which finds that the USA prison system has adequate protections for vulnerable persons, which she accepted Love was, will now be passed to the Home Secretary so the extradition may be formally passed.
The Westminster Magistrates’ Court’s ruling, handed down by Judge Nina Tempia, approves Love’s extradition to the US, where he faces charges including hacking government agencies, conspiracy, and identity theft in New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.
The judge is due to give his decision on the extradition at 2pm today, and also set a date for Mr Love’s case against the National Crime Agency over its retention of computer equipment it seized from him.
Mr Love, from Stradishall, Suffolk, has previously said he feared he would die in a United States prison if he was extradited.
Lauri Love arrives for an extradition hearing.
His defense fund, however, claims that Love will be unfairly treated in the US and that he will be served with a prison sentence that goes too far.
Describing him, Rev Love, 63, said that he and his wife Sirkka, 61, had been so “dazzled” by his intelligence that they initially failed to realise he was “struggling with life”.
He said that he will appeal the decision at the High Court and is willing to go all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.
Judge Tempia agreed with this assessment of Love’s mental health, and agreed with testimony given by Professor Baron-Cohen and Professor Kopelman that Love would attempt suicide before extradition to the United States, but was satisfied that the UK and USA could arrange for this to be prevented, by putting Love on suicide watch for instance.
Love, 31, a Finnish-British citizen, allegedly participated in the attacks, according to a two-count indictment filed by USA authorities on October 23, 2013.
Those rules were introduced in 2012 after the extradition to the United States of Scottish hacker Gary McKinnon was blocked by then-Home Secretary Theresa May, who is now Prime Minister.
She said Mr Love faces “extremely serious charges for offences of computer hacking” and while she acknowledged his physical and mental health issues, she was “satisfied” his needs would be met.
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“I don’t entertain any prospects of justice in America”.
