NASA hacker McKinnon to hear extradition fate tomorrow

Summary: After a 10-year legal battle, home secretary Theresa May will reveal whether the UK will send Gary McKinnon to the US to face court charges over hacking NASA and military computers.

NASA hacker Gary McKinnon will learn on Tuesday whether his 10-year legal fight to avoid extradition to the US has been successful.

Home secretary Theresa May will reveal her decision to parliament on Tuesday afternoon, McKinnon's solicitor Karen Todner confirmed in a post to Twitter on Sunday.

The US began its extradition efforts against the London resident in 2005, on charges that he had caused $700,000 in damage by hacking into NASA and US military systems. In 2002, McKinnon admitted breaking into the systems, but said he was looking for evidence of UFOs and that his aims were not malicious.

Janis Sharp, McKinnon's mother, welcomed the news but stressed her fears about the reaction of McKinnon, who has Asperger's syndrome, if he is sent to the US.

"My terror is that Gary would not last five minutes away from home," McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp, told the BBC.

Efforts to keep McKinnon in the UK got a boost on Friday, after Home Office-commissioned medical advisers produced a new report into his health. Two experts, Declan Murphy and Tom Fahy, said the extradition carries a "significant risk of suicidal behaviour" for McKinnon, according to reports. The assessment is a change of tune for the experts, who in July described the risk as "moderate".

McKinnon's health concerns and the long-running legal battle have prompted calls from British politicians for the overhaul of the extradition treaty between the US and the UK. The 46-year-old's fight has seen him appeal to the European Court of Human Rights and be turned down for a hearing in the British Supreme Court.

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NASA hacker McKinnon to hear extradition fate tomorrow

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