The Long Reach Of US Extradition
An interesting and timely article from New Matilda on the U.S. "thirst for extradition":
"He was hailed as "incredibly brave" to stand up to the United States, but British computer hacker Gary McKinnon only narrowly avoided being extradited there. He had already been indicted by a US federal grand jury in Virginia in November 2002. UK home secretary Theresa May halted his extradition because of medical reports warning that McKinnon would kill himself were he to stand trial in the United States.
The US state department was disappointed with the decision not to extradite McKinnon for "long overdue justice". His case highlights unanswered questions about political extradition cases more generally. In 2007 former NSW Chief Judge in Equity, Justice Peter Young, highlighted in the Australian Law Journal "the bizarre fact that people are being extradited to the US to face criminal charges when they have never been to the US and the alleged act occurred wholly outside the US".
Justice Young’s comments were raised in the context of the case of Hew Griffiths, an Australian who was the first person in the world to be extradited and criminally prosecuted in the United States for copyright infringement. Griffiths had been involved with the group Drink or Die, which decoded copy-protected software and media products and distributed them free of cost. He was indicted by the now infamous US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia for copyright infringement and conspiracy to infringe copyright under the US Code.
Griffiths was clinically depressed, unemployed, had never made money from his activities, had no prior convictions, and was incarcerated in Silverwater and Parklea for three years, because there is no presumption of bail in extradition cases. British-based members of Drink or Die were tried in Britain, just as Griffiths could have been charged, and tried, in an Australian court
http://newmatilda.com/2012/10/19/long-reach-us-extradition
Obviously, this brings to mind the current fears expressed by Julian Assange on his possible extradition, and given the likelihood of the Australian government (Labor or Liberal) to comply with U.S. demands, his concerns are not unreasonable.
But sorry, guys - just why does the U.S. think it has rights over other countries and their citizens? Does it really matter if Uncle Sam's nose is tweaked ocasionally?
Too often, the punishment simply doesn't fit the crime. A sense of proportion is desperately needed. There are far more important problems facing the world.
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