Read Saving Gary McKinnon Online
Authors: Janis Sharp
S
hortly after Theresa May’s announcement, it was brought to my attention that the five young siblings we fostered remain together and are apparently happy with their adopted parents. We were overjoyed to hear this and it gave Wilson and me closure to yet another chapter of our lives.
I hope with all my heart that the adopters and the children are truly happy together. Huge respect to the couple for working through what must have been difficult times, and for managing to unite and to keep their family together.
I was reminded when we watched the film
Despicable Me
of the words of a wise woman who said to me: ‘Don’t forget that children change the adults’. This comforted me.
The children’s birth mother never had any more children as her heart was broken when they were placed for adoption. She is now in a long-term and happy relationship with a good man. Her hope is that her children are loved and cherished by their adopters and that one day she will meet them and be reunited with the children.
On 11 January 2013 a young Jewish American computer genius named Aaron Swartz took his own life because he was so afraid of
the 35-year sentence proposed by US DOJ prosecutors for alleged computer offences.
Professors throughout the US downloaded their academic research and research papers onto the internet for free in protest at the
treatment
of Aaron by prosecutors, which Aaron’s partner and his family say led to his suicide.
At the age of fourteen Aaron was involved in the development of the web-feed format RSS and later the social news site REDDIT. He hanged himself in his Brooklyn apartment.
This is not the first loss of a gifted young computer pioneer’s life when facing prosecution and a ludicrous prison sentence.
How many more exceptional young men will we lose through suicide or by being locked up in a violent prison system for years on end, as a punishment for their desire to explore boundaries and push forward frontiers that may, in the end, lead to our planet’s very survival?
I
n the year 2000, my long-term interests in computers and the proven government secrecy surrounding the UFO
phenomenon
culminated in actions on my part that would lead my family, loved ones and me down a long and difficult road. Using basic IT knowledge and an old PC on a 56K dial-up modem, I searched US government and NASA computers for evidence of UFO truth. What I was to find was astounding, and not just in terms of UFOs but also in terms of computer security, or the lack of it.
More than half of the computers had no password set: this meant you could just type a username, leaving the password field blank, and you would be logged onto the system. I was greatly concerned about the lack of security and began to leave messages on all these insecure computers, highlighting the lack of security as well as leaving political diatribes. My activities didn’t last long and I was soon caught.
I was told by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit that as I had not sent any malicious code I would probably get six months’ community service for unauthorised access. Later that year, when the US requested extradition, the potential six-month sentence in Britain suddenly became a maximum sixty-year
sentence in America. This news was like a huge hammer falling on us all. Sixty years in a foreign jail is a far cry from six months’ community service in your own country. Even if this figure was reduced by plea bargaining it would still be highly excessive in comparison to the punishment under UK law.
The next year, 2003, a new UK–US extradition treaty was passed, using ancient and undemocratic devices known as ‘orders in council’ and ‘royal prerogative’. The treaty is imbalanced, since US citizens are protected by their constitution whereas UK citizens can be handed over to the US without any evidence at all. The figures bear this out if you look at the number of US nationals getting extradited to the UK versus the number of UK nationals getting extradited to the US.
I began a huge slide downward into depression. It looked like we had a fight on our hands that we couldn’t win. The UK
judiciary’s
hands seemed to be tied; working within the confines of this one-sided treaty gave little room for manoeuvre. In 2005 I was rearrested as the result of a US arrest warrant that described me as a ‘fugitive’, as if I had committed a crime in America and then run away to the UK. I was not a fugitive and have lived my entire life in the UK.
My mental state grew steadily worse as I tried to grasp how and why this was escalating out of all proportion and where this was all leading to.
Over the next few years we had many extradition hearings and judicial reviews and my mum gained support from
celebrities
and politicians alike. Come 2008 we were waiting in hope for the European Court of Human Rights to hear our case. But our hopes were dashed; they threw the case out so quickly I wondered if they had even considered it. I was losing all hope. Another year in this terrifying limbo and then our hopes were smashed again, this time by the new UK Supreme Court, who
would not even consider the case. I did one last interview with
London Tonight
, my girlfriend Lucy in tears in the studio, then we went home. If it weren’t for my mum and Lucy, there were many days I would never have survived.
At that point I stopped hoping. Everything we tried seemed to fail and there was no point in going on. I wouldn’t wash, dress or eat and the worry was eating away at me. It was at that point that my mother, Janis, took over. I couldn’t do it anymore, I just couldn’t handle it. Years of mental attrition was taking its toll. My mum stepped up when I fell down. This normally quite shy woman was suddenly at the forefront of the interviews, the hearings, the demonstrations and the political meetings. Sitting at a PC, somehow gathering support from all walks of life, I think she got through about seven keyboards in five years!
My mum and I are very close and our family are fiercely loyal to each other. Janis made sure the right people got the right information; where most people would have thought they had done more than enough to secure their goal, she would push it even further. She breathed, slept and ate the fight for me. She was not alone: my stepfather, Wilson, looked after Janis while she looked after my future.
The support didn’t end there. My mum garnered the support of many musicians who were sympathetic to our plight,
including
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Trudie Styler, another amazing woman. Trudie is married to Sting and they both wrote to Jacqui Smith asking her to refuse extradition. David Gilmour also brought Chrissie Hynde and The Orb on board and they were also very supportive.
We had the support of many MPs, particularly my MP, David Burrowes, who was tireless in his activities and even threatened to resign if extradition was ordered. Keith Vaz, Lucy’s parents’
MP, along with the Home Affairs Select Committee that he chaired, fought relentlessly for the amendment of the one-sided extradition treaty and for the victims of it.
The UK press was incredibly supportive; the
Daily Mail
ran a long and intense campaign against my extradition and the imbalanced treaty. Duncan Campbell of
The Guardian
was tireless in keeping our story alive, and his incredible wife, Julie Christie, also pledged her support. Virtually every other British newspaper and computer mag highlighted my case and the unfairness of the 2003 extradition treaty. Worthy of special mention is Tom Bradby, who kept asking the questions that contributed to President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron discussing my case twice in front of the world.
A twist of fate was to garner us more aid as well as
leading
to me having a deeper understanding of myself and of the many problems I had over the years. After the last interview I had on
London Tonight
, half a dozen people, including experts on autism, called and emailed to say that they thought I had Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, because of my
mannerisms
, lack of facial expression and the nature of my answers on the programme. This was to lead to me being assessed for
autistic
spectrum disorder.
I had always felt different from everyone else and never fitted in but I always assumed that I was just very different rather than abnormal. It turned out that the reason I was very different from what autism sufferers term ‘neuro-typical’ people is that I had ASD. After seeking five separate diagnoses from top people in mental health, I was unanimously diagnosed as having Asperger’s syndrome.
We have had so much support from the National Autistic Society and I’m glad to say that our problems have helped to raise
awareness of Asperger’s syndrome and other autistic spectrum disorders.
In May of 2010 a new Home Secretary was appointed. This was Theresa May, a tough politician who bettered a few of her recent predecessors in my opinion. With a fresh Cabinet came a fresh hope. We also had fresh medical evidence,
including
a history of mental illness in at least three generations of my family.
I had undergone so many assessments I began to feel like a lab rat outside of home as well as in it. I had to cope with learning that the reason I am as I am is because I have a brain that is wired differently to whatever ‘normal’ is – while already undergoing severe depression and no longer having the will to live. But thankfully, through the efforts of my mum and the care of the doctors and having Lucy by my side, I somehow survived to live another day.
After two more years of tests, discussions and hearings, and nearly eleven years in total of having our heads on the block, Theresa May announced that she would block the extradition on the grounds of my medical evidence and the specific details surrounding my mental health.
I can only hope that my mother’s story will inspire others who are facing the sharp end of bad legislation. As I write this, it’s Mother’s Day. The first free Mother’s Day my mum has had in eleven years. Words really aren’t enough x x x
M
ichael Seamark, without whom this book would never have been written – and whose wit, charm and conversation
lightened
the darkest of days.
Rebecca Winfield, without whom this book would never have been published – and whose wisdom and unique way of
pulling
people and purpose together has been invaluable.
Iain Dale, whose enthusiasm and instant decision making were truly awesome.
Sam Carter, Editor, for his first-class attitude and consummate professionalism.
Suzanne Sangster, Publicity Director, for her warmth, ingenuity, organisation and flexibility.
Solicitor Karen Todner, our avenging angel, who fought with undying passion and fortitude until freedom was won.
Barrister Ben Cooper, for his warmth and humanity and for pursuing every legal remedy available.
Edward Fitzgerald QC, a man of the people for the people, who never took slight no matter how much I argued my point. Edward’s intelligence and unique way of delivering argument to a court is truly inspirational.
David Burrowes, for being the man that he is and the best
MP Gary could ever have had, and whose determination, eloquence and tenacity revitalised the very heart of democracy.
Grant Shapps, my amazing MP, for his never-ending help and for being there in an instant whenever I needed to speak to him.
Katerina Allen, for passing on my endless letters.
Paul Dacre and the
Daily Mail
, for another outstanding campaign giving voice to the people, which resonated throughout society until justice was done.
Home Secretary Theresa May, an extraordinary woman, for her courage, compassion and wisdom, without whom this ending could never have been achieved.
Prime Minister David Cameron, for having the courage and wherewithal to twice raise Gary’s case on the world stage with President Obama, and for giving Theresa May his full backing.
Nick Clegg and team, for joining our demonstration on a cold December day outside the Home Office and for giving Theresa May his full backing for her decision on Gary.
Gordon and Sarah Brown, for their commendable efforts in trying to help Gary.
Trudie Styler and Sting, Duncan Campbell and Julie Christie, Graham Nash, Chrissie Hynde, Anita Sumner, Alex Paterson of The Orb, Peter Howson, Paul Loasby, Bob Geldof, David Gilmour and Polly Samson, all of whom I can never repay for all they have done for Gary and me, and to Polly’s brother Joe Winnington, an amazing man and a better friend than anyone could wish for, who despite not having seen us for years pulled out all the stops to help us when things were at their bleakest.
Mark Dziecielewski, a mine of information who worked
tirelessly
for ten years to inform and support Gary and me and all who joined the campaign.
Karl Watkin and Melanie Riley, a force to be reckoned with,
whose support for Gary and others and fight for the revision of the 2003 extradition treaty have been truly awesome.
Shami Chakrabarti and all at Liberty, who fight every day of their lives for justice.
Richard Mills of Research Autism, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autistic Research Trust, Dr Thomas Berney, Professor Jeremy Turk and Dr Jan Vermeulen, for saving Gary’s life.
Professor Digby Tantam and Professor Emmy van Deurzen, for helping put it back together again.
Kevin Healey, SAAS campaigner extraordinare, Dr Luke Beardon, Matthew Downie, Mark Lever, Tom Madders and the National Autistic Society.
Michael Darwyne, a dear friend I have never met in person, whose endless support, knowledge, insight and way of seeing were inspirational.
The Rt Hon. Keith Vaz and the Home Affairs Select Committee, whose fight for right goes on.
Baron Maginnis of Drumglass, whose compassion and spirited fight to see Gary tried in the UK never waned.
Dominic Raab, Kate Hoey, Lord Carlile, David Davis, Caroline Lucas, Michael Meacher, Chris Huhne, Boris Johnson, Dennis Skinner and Alistair Carmichael.
Sally Bercow, a woman who speaks her mind and doesn’t pull her punches, and John Bercow, a man who does the same.
Claire Simmons, an angel who appeared from the blue in a time of need, and John Davies, a dear friend of Storm Thogerson and long-time friend of ours who did the same.
Nadine Stavonina, a remarkable woman, campaigner and speaker on all things autism, for her knowledge, wisdom and tenacity in helping Gary and others with ASD.
Danny Alexander, Peter Hain, Fair Trials International, Menzies
Campbell, Julian Huppert, Peter Oborne, Hywel Francis, the joint parliamentary committee on human rights and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Professor John Arquilla, an American intellectual and
presidential
adviser on cyber-warfare, for showing us the compassionate face of America and having the courage to raise his head above the parapet to uphold traditional American values.
James Slack, Christopher Hope, Martin Beckford, Rory Carroll, Euan Duguid, Ben Boreland, Mary McConnell, James Murray, Michael Frith, John Leyden, Tom Espiner, Dave Neal and Mark Ballard, journalists who fight for right, and online and offline friends who do the same.
Ian Macleod, Lorna Scott, John and Jill Sharp, Charlie and Jeanna McKinnon, Mark and Ofer, Josie Betan, Jim and Helen Litherland, Oliviea and Johnnie, Pauline and Steve, Tamsin and family, Dhiren Shah, and all the wonderful children who were part of our lives, because family and friends matter.
Mike Garrick, Cliff Sullivan, Julia O’Dwyer, Ben Scotchbrook, @Harlechnnorfolk, Paul Stevenson, Les Floyd, Alex Magill, Jerry Pippin, Kerry Cassidy, Dan Bull and so many others who, because of limited space, I was unable to include.
My eternal thanks to all those already mentioned in this book and to those not mentioned, for every email written, letter sent, speech delivered, tweet tweeted, FreeGary avatar donned, article written, video aired, song written and voice spoken in support of Gary being kept in the UK.
Thank you for helping to save Gary.