Exclusive: A Message from Gary McKinnon's Mother
Thursday, July 14, 2011
"The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing, but newspapers..." ~ Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), third president of the United States.
"Thank goodness for the real free Press which I call the Interwebs..." ~ @cliffsull (2011) - fan of Jefferson.
I suppose everyone gets tired of hearing the same old story being rehashed and reported, and for the purposes of this post I give an advance apology, for that is exactly what this post is... its the same old story.
It’s the #FreeGary tale...
For a story to grow 'boring' means it is never discussed, which breeds inaction amongst the pen-pushers who are currently deciding a mans fate and future and I simply cannot allow it to fade away into a footnote in the public's memory bank.
It is a mans mental and physical health and well-being that is at issue here. Forget everything else you may have read before!
We live in the here and now, and for Gary McKinnon and his family - this is very real. It's not just a 'story' - it is their lives we are talking about.
I am a proud supporter of Gary and of his mother, Janis Sharp, and her fight against the ludicrous 'extradition' request from the US Justice Dept. Gary is NOT a Terrorist. The Act plainly does not apply to him.
I saw a post on this site recently asking if 'Aspergers' was the new Defence for Hackers' - although the post was not about Gary, it did mention him and I felt it did not do his story justice.
Gary is the most non-malicious guy on the planet.
To be blunt and from what I hear - Gary now 'exists' from day to day. He cannot look to the future until all of this is finally sorted out (one way or the other).
Gary is suicidal at times - I think perhaps many others could appreciate that - especially when you are facing the might of US Officialdom.
Imagine waking up everyday and not being able to plan a tomorrow.
Despite medical evidence from experts in the field... there are still those who dismiss Aspergers syndrome as a defense against criminal activities.
There is a lot of stuff written about Gary, mostly by people who have never spoken to him or his mother themselves, but simply rehashed blog posts of old stories from the past 9 years.
In some small quarters there are those who are totally pro Gary's extradition and who would do almost anything to see it happen. They fight their corner well... but we try to hold our own.
We must accept that there will always be 'hardliners' who find it hard to lay down their beliefs. We are just as steadfast in our belief, that no justice will be served by extraditing and jailing Gary. Check out the #FreeGary hashtag and you will see it is never quiet...
There are certain aspects of this case which never get very much attention. I have many question:
- Why was the security so crap at NASA and the other military networks which Gary 'hacked'?
- Why are the Justice Department so vehement in their pursuit, yet President Obama has stated publicly that he will accept the decision of the UK Government and Courts on the issue of Gary being extradited?
Why has the US Justice Department not chased down the hundreds and thousands of attempted hackers, ever relentless against NASA and the Pentagon networks... Because we all know Hollywood (and the media) has ensured that these networks are the Golden Chalice of the newbie scriptk1ddy.
- Why has the UK Home Office allowed Gary and his family to languish in their hellish limbo?
Gary s extradition is being done under an Act which was signed by Tony Blair and George Bush in 2003. The Act was designed for use against Terrorists - and it was signed not long after 9-11.
The Act itself I had an immediate issue with, because now ALL who live on UK Soil can be legally 'renditioned' on 'suspicion' and WITHOUT THE NEED FOR EVIDENCE!
The UK Government has only recently announced a review of the Extradition Treaty as it stands.
The Home Office has yet to arrive at a decision, which makes them, in my eyes, guilty and complicit of mental persecution against Gary.
That does not take into account the families fears and worries and those of Garys friends and supporters.
I end this post with an Exclusive message for InfoSec Island readers - it is from Gary's mother Janis:
Dear Infosec Island Readers.
We had high hopes of receiving a good decision from Theresa May and our Government before Parliament rises for their two month holidays but it looks as though this is continuing to drag on and we remain in limbo.
Gary was 35 years old when his alleged crime took place, he is now 45 years old. I was 52 years old and am now 62 years old.
I'm desperate for an end to the years of mental Torture Gary has endured, so that he can have some years of relative youth left to have a life again and perhaps even to speak at the Infosec Security conference in London as he did on several occasions after his arrest, when giving advice to attendees on how to protect their computers.
I also hope that this is over soon so that I can have some years left to have a chance to enjoy the life I once had for however many active years I might be left with.
Being left in limbo for so many years is a horrendous form of cruelty and mental torture for a crime that the High Tech Crime Unit told Gary in March 2002 would be likely to attract a sentence of 6 months community service.
We live in hope of an imminent end to this nightmare.
Janis (Gary's Mum)
Special thanks to Janis for getting back to me and supplying the above. I hope your nightmare ends soon Janis.
If anyone else is interested - I also blog here http://cliffsull.wordpress.com
https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/15124-Exclusive-A-Message-from-Gary-Mc...
