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20 Nov, 2017 16:35

Theresa May failed to raise Lauri Love ‘hacker’ extradition case with Donald Trump – campaigners

Theresa May failed to raise Lauri Love ‘hacker’ extradition case with Donald Trump – campaigners

Theresa May has been accused of failing to ask Donald Trump to halt the extradition of British citizen Lauri Love to the US. It comes as MPs raise concerns that Love, who has Asperger syndrome, may commit suicide if sent to the US for trial.

Love, from Suffolk, has been accused of stealing data from top US agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the US Army, the Department of Defense, NASA, and the FBI in a series of attacks between 2012 and 2013.

A cross-party group of 73 MPs has written to Attorney General Jeremy Wright to warn him that the 32-year-old is at serious risk of harming himself if he is extradited to the US, where he faces a 99-year prison sentence if convicted.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd authorized Love’s extradition in November 2016, with a Home Office statement at the time claiming she had “carefully considered all relevant matters.”

The MPs wrote to the Attorney General as a High Court judge is set to rule at the end of the month on an appeal to halt the extradition.

A copy of the letter, co-signed by Labour MP Barry Sheerman, Tory MP Heidi Allen, and Love’s Tory constituency MP Matt Hancock, was also sent to Downing Street on Friday.

It urged Wright to consult his American counterparts on Love’s case amid indication by “eminent experts” that the accused has a “very high” risk of committing suicide as his mental health would deteriorate abroad.

The letter resembles a similar one sent to former US President Barack Obama pressing him to halt the extradition amid “deep concerns” for Love’s safety.

Naomi Colvin, a representative of the Courage Foundation, which runs Love’s defense fund and support campaign, said: “To the best of my knowledge, and that of Lauri’s legal team and his family, the UK Government has not made any kind of representation to Donald Trump asking for us to be able to try Lauri here instead of him being extradited to the United States.

“More than a hundred MPs signed a letter to Barack Obama last year about Lauri and I don’t think the UK Government did anything to act on those concerns either,” he added, according to Cambridge News.

The latest letter reads: “Why is the United States insistent on Mr Love’s extradition despite the UK having a proven track record of appropriately prosecuting, sentencing and rehabilitating individuals who have committed computer hacking offences against the US?”

A Government spokesman said: “It is for a judge to decide on extradition cases and Mr Love’s appeal will be heard by the High Court later this month.

“As this is an ongoing case it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

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