AN alleged computer hacker has told of his relief after High Court judges in London blocked his extradition to the US.
The judges said the extradition of Lauri Love, who has Asperger syndrome, “would be oppressive by reason of his physical and mental condition”. He is now likely to face trial in the UK.
Former Glasgow University student Love, 33, who lives with his parents near Newmarket in Suffolk, is alleged to have stolen huge amounts of data from US agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the army, the defence department, Nasa and the FBI in a spate of online attacks in 2012 and 2013.
He said after yesterday’s hearing: “I’m greatly relieved I am no longer facing the prospect of being locked up for potentially the rest of my life in a country I have never visited. If this precedent can avoid someone less fortunate having to go through this ordeal then that would make it all worthwhile.
“This decision is important for the appropriate administration of criminal justice and also for the humanitarian accommodation of people whose brains work differently. This legal struggle has kind of defined my life for the past four years. It is good it has come to a satisfactory and just conclusion.”
Blocking the extradition, Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Mr Justice Ouseley said: “We emphasise, however, that it would not be oppressive to prosecute Mr Love in England for the offences alleged against him. Far from it.
“The Crown Prosecution Service must now bend its endeavours to his prosecution, with the assistance to be expected from the authorities in the United States, recognising the gravity of the allegations in this case, and the harm done to the victims.”
They said that if proven “these are serious offences indeed”.
Love, who is studying engineering at the University of Suffolk, said he was looking forward to focusing on his course. He said he intends to pursue a career in internet security.
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