• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

The shocking truth about the UK activist facing life in a US jail (Part One)

Tom Coburg by Tom Coburg
3 October 2016
in Global
Reading Time: 5 mins read
160 12
A A
0
Home Global
320
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

If Washington DC has its way, a British citizen with Asperger’s Syndrome will be extradited to the US for a ‘prank’. This could see him face 99 years in prison.

Hacking and international relations

Lauri Love is a computer scientist who advises on computer security. He is also a political activist who has been accused of taking part in the hacking of websites belonging to the FBI, NASA and the US Federal Reserve. No evidence has been produced to support these allegations, and Love not only denies them but states that the hacking attacks referred to were clearly just “prankery”.

The UK courts have ruled that Love is now subject to US extradition applications. He is expected to appeal that decision in the High Court and, if necessary, in the European Court of Human Rights, as he believes he will not get a fair trial in the USA. Also, if found guilty, he fears he won’t be able to tolerate the US prison system and could commit suicide.

Wider implications

But this case is not just about Lauri Love. If his appeals are lost, it means UK judicial sovereignty will be subjugated to US demands. His lawyers argue that, just as US citizens who commit alleged crimes on US soil are not subject to extradition, Love’s alleged crime (committed on UK soil) should be afforded that same right.

His lawyers also point out that his extradition should be refused under a part of the Extradition Act 2003 which was introduced after former Home Secretary Theresa May blocked the extradition of Gary McKinnon – who allegedly hacked into NASA and who also suffered from Asperger’s.

But why did the ‘pranks’ happen in the first place? Well, they came in response to the death of another young man – Aaron Swartz – and the circumstances surrounding his own prosecution. And there’s far more to this story than meets the eye.

The link between Lauri Love and Aaron Swartz

If you’ve ever used RSS, Creative Commons, or Reddit, you have the late IT genius Aaron Swartz to thank. But as with Lauri Love, Massachusetts-based Swartz was threatened by the US justice system with decades of imprisonment.

Swartz was accused of downloading five million academic articles (via a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) server) from the academic database JSTOR. Hardly the crime of the century. More like the sort of thing that should have resulted in a proverbial ‘slap on the hand’. Instead, Swartz was threatened with multiple charges, including computer and wire fraud, which were later upgraded.

In the end, Swartz committed suicide at the age of 26 rather than face the prospect of prison and possible bankruptcy.

Despite Swartz’s tragic death, the US government refused to ensure that what happened to him wouldn’t happen again. And that refusal led to an act of political protest involving hacktivists – one of whom is alleged to have been Lauri Love.

Why Swartz was prosecuted

According to his indictment, Swartz registered under the name Gary Host and, over several months, allegedly hooked up a laptop to download the JSTOR journal articles. He was no professional thief, but he was threatened with up to 35 years in prison.

Information security expert Alex Stamos says:

Aaron Swartz was not the super hacker breathlessly described in the Government’s indictment and forensic reports, and his actions did not pose a real danger to JSTOR, MIT or the public. He was an intelligent young man who found a loophole that would allow him to download a lot of documents quickly. This loophole was created intentionally by MIT and JSTOR, and was codified contractually in the piles of paperwork turned over during discovery.

Overreach by the US government

But prosecutional overreach by the US justice system is nothing new. In recent years, it has notably been applied to others who support the freedom of information. These include:

  • Edward Snowden (charged in abstentia with data theft and espionage for revealing unconstitutional mass surveillance activity by US government institutions).
  • Chelsea Manning (serving 35 years for revealing evidence of US war crimes to Wikileaks – see Iraq War Logs and Afghan War Diary etc).
  • Jeremy Hammond (serving 10 years for revealing to Wikileaks how Stratfor, a private intelligence company, was spying on political activists).
  • Barrett Brown (a US journalist imprisoned for 5 years on charges of transmitting threats, accessory to hacking charges, and interfering with the execution of a search warrant, though Brown maintains his prosecution was all about revenge for the Stratfor hack (which he wasn’t involved with) and possibly for his other investigations into private surveillance systems).

The tactic of the US justice system appears simple: deflect any criticism of alleged US government wrongdoings by throwing every possible charge at individuals who expose them – to ensure maximum sentencing and incarceration. There also appears to be a level of vindictiveness, as evidenced by the recent two weeks of solitary confinement metered against Chelsea Manning for trying to commit suicide.

With Lauri Love, the US government is now trying to flex its muscles in the UK, too.

For more on the circumstances of Swartz’s suicide, the reaction to it, and the part played by the US Secret Service, see Part Two of this article which will be released on 4 October.

Get Involved!

– Donate to the funds supporting Lauri Love.

– Sign a petition to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, requesting that extradition proceedings against Lauri Love be halted.

Featured image via Courage Foundation tweet

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

Rather than ‘Hard’ or ‘Soft’, some Tories are opting for ‘Sh*t Brexit’

Next Post

The list of every cancelled event at this year’s Tory Conference

Next Post
The list of every cancelled event at this year’s Tory Conference

The list of every cancelled event at this year’s Tory Conference

Jeremy Hunt is hoping junior doctors don’t bring up this new revelation at the negotiating table

Jeremy Hunt just took his fight against the junior doctors to the brink of madness

The world’s banks are about to screw you out of everything, and now it’s too late to stop them [VIDEO]

The world's banks are about to screw you out of everything, and now it's too late to stop them [VIDEO]

BREAKING: The man accused of murdering MP Jo Cox appears in court, and insults her memory

BREAKING: The man accused of murdering MP Jo Cox appears in court, and insults her memory

While the UK establishment carps on about Corbyn, Theresa May has taken a wrecking ball to the place

While the UK establishment carps on about Corbyn, Theresa May has taken a wrecking ball to the place

Jeremy Corbyn
Analysis

Jeremy Corbyn suggests a new party will be in place before 2026 elections

by Ed Sykes
21 May 2025
Donald Trump tax and debt
Analysis

Trump’s tax breaks for his rich mates could add $3 trillion to US national debt

by Steve Topple
21 May 2025
Co-op Israeli products
Trending

Pressure rises on Co-op board to follow through on boycott of Israeli products

by Ed Sykes
21 May 2025
Liz Kendall dodging a question about DWP cuts
Trending

Watch as Liz Kendall scurries away from a disabled person calling out DWP cuts

by Steve Topple
21 May 2025
Liz Kendall talking about DWP PIP cuts
Analysis

Liz Kendall just lied again about how many people will be hit by DWP PIP cuts

by Steve Topple
21 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

Jeremy Corbyn
Analysis
Ed Sykes

Jeremy Corbyn suggests a new party will be in place before 2026 elections

Donald Trump tax and debt
Analysis
Steve Topple

Trump’s tax breaks for his rich mates could add $3 trillion to US national debt

Co-op Israeli products
Trending
Ed Sykes

Pressure rises on Co-op board to follow through on boycott of Israeli products

Liz Kendall dodging a question about DWP cuts
Trending
Steve Topple

Watch as Liz Kendall scurries away from a disabled person calling out DWP cuts

ADVERTISEMENT
Analysis
Nathan Spears

Vote for the Press Photograph of the Year 2024

Image by Burkard Meyendriesch from Pixabay
Feature
Nathan Spears

Why Santiago Ways is the Leading Choice for Walking the Camino de Santiago

Environment
Nathan Spears

EU elections point to growing public desire for new policymaking approach in Brussels