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Hacking suspect Lauri Love wins appeal against extradition to US Lauri Love ruling 'sets precedent' for trying hacking suspects in UK
(about 3 hours later)
Lawyers for 32-year-old student argued he would be at risk of killing himself in US Rights groups and lawyers for 33-year-old welcome landmark judgment against extradition to US
Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondentOwen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
Mon 5 Feb 2018 11.21 GMT Mon 5 Feb 2018 16.40 GMT
Last modified on Mon 5 Feb 2018 13.25 GMT First published on Mon 5 Feb 2018 11.21 GMT
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Lauri Love, the British student accused of hacking into US government websites, will not be extradited to face trial in America, the high court has ruled. A high court ruling blocking extradition to the US of Lauri Love, a student accused of breaking into US government websites, has been welcomed by lawyers and human rights groups as a precedent for trying hacking suspects in the UK in future.
Lawyers for the 32-year-old, who lives in Suffolk, had argued that he should be tried for his alleged crimes in the UK and that he would be at risk of killing himself if sent to the US. The decision delivered by the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, is highly critical of the conditions Love would have endured in US jails, warning of the risk of suicide.
The court accepted both of the main arguments advanced by Love’s lawyers that there was no reason he could not be tried in England and that he might suffer serious damage to his health if he were extradited. Lawyers for the 33-year-old, who lives in Suffolk, had argued that Love should be tried in Britain for allegedly hacking into US government websites and that he would be at risk of killing himself if sent to the US.
There was an outburst of cheering and applause in court when the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, announced his decision. Burnett asked supporters to be quiet, saying: “This is a court, not a theatre.” There was cheering and applause in court on Monday when Burnett announced his decision. He asked supporters to be quiet, saying: “This is a court, not a theatre.”
Announcing his decision preventing extradition, Burnett said: “We emphasise however that it would not be oppressive to prosecute Mr Love in England for the offences alleged against him. In his judgment, Burnett said: “It would not be oppressive to prosecute Mr Love in England for the offences alleged against him.
“Far from it. Much of Mr Love’s argument was based on the contention that this is indeed where he should be prosecuted.“Far from it. Much of Mr Love’s argument was based on the contention that this is indeed where he should be prosecuted.
“The CPS [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. As we have pointed out, the CPS did not intervene to say that prosecution in England was inappropriate. If proven, these are serious offences indeed.” “The CPS [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.”
The CPS, which acts on behalf of the US authorities in the case, said it would read the judgment before deciding whether or not to appeal. The court heard evidence from psychiatrists who work in the US prison system and questioned the adequacy of safeguarding procedures in US prisons.
Any appeal against the high court decision would be taken to the supreme court. The CPS, which acts on behalf of the US authorities in the case, said it would read the judgment before deciding whether or not to appeal. It has 14 days to decide whether or not to appeal to the supreme court.
Emerging from the front of the court afterwards, Love said: “This is not just for myself. I hope this sets a precedent for the future for anyone in the same position that they will be tried here. Emerging from the front of the court afterwards, Love said: “This is not just for myself. I hope this sets a precedent for the future for anyone in the same position that they will be tried here.”
“We are hopeful that other people will be able to rely on this.” At a later press conference, he added: “I am greatly relieved that I’m no longer facing the prospect of being locked up in a country I have never visited.
Love, who has joint British and Finnish nationality, has Asperger syndrome and severe depression. His supporters had gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice before the hearing carrying placards declaring: “Trump can’t get no Love”, “Free Love”, “Trial at home” and “Give Love a chance”. “This legal struggle has defined my life for the past four years. I’m not looking forward to be being prosecuted but I think there’s a better chance that it will be done justly and fairly in the UK.”
They had feared he would be held in solitary confinement and face a jail sentence of up to 99 years in the US. Love, who holds joint British and Finnish nationality, has Asperger syndrome and severe depression. His supporters had gathered outside the Royal Courts of Justice before the hearing carrying placards declaring: “Trump can’t get no Love”, “Free Love”, “Trial at home” and “Give Love a chance”.
They feared he would be held in solitary confinement and face a jail sentence of up to 99 years in the US.
Welcoming the judgment, Emma Norton, head of legal casework at Liberty, which intervened in the case, said: “We are delighted that the court has today recognised Lauri’s vulnerability, close family connections to the UK and the potentially catastrophic consequences of extraditing him. This was always a case that could have been prosecuted here and it’s shameful that Lauri and his family have been put through this terrible ordeal.”Welcoming the judgment, Emma Norton, head of legal casework at Liberty, which intervened in the case, said: “We are delighted that the court has today recognised Lauri’s vulnerability, close family connections to the UK and the potentially catastrophic consequences of extraditing him. This was always a case that could have been prosecuted here and it’s shameful that Lauri and his family have been put through this terrible ordeal.”
His father, the Rev Alexander Love, had said his son feared for his life because he did not think he could cope with the trauma of being sent to the US. His father, the Rev Alexander Love, had said his son feared for his life because he did not think he could cope with the trauma of being sent to the US. He also praised Theresa May for devising the legal test which prevented Love’s removal.
More details soon … Nick Vamos, a solicitor at the law firm Peters and Peters and a former CPS extradition specialist, said: “This judgment will mean that US and UK prosecutors will need to be very careful in future about how they decide who should prosecute cases of concurrent jurisdiction, and will have to focus far more than previously on a suspect’s connections to the UK.”
Kaim Todner solicitors, who represented Love, said: “This has been a landmark judgment, not just because it is the first time that the forum bar [the test which decides where cases should be heard] has successfully been argued, but also because it is a very rare occasion on which the English courts have discharged a requested person on a United States extradition request.”
Ben Cooper, one of the barristers who represented Love, said: “This is the first case to succeed under the new forum bar.”
ExtraditionExtradition
UK criminal justiceUK criminal justice
CrimeCrime
Human rightsHuman rights
HackingHacking
ComputingComputing
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