North London computer hacker Gary McKinnon wants to face court for hacking into the Pentagon's computer system but should not be tried in America, his mother has said.Last week Home Secretary Alan Johnson finally dashed hopes that the Government would intervene in the case, insisting there was no evidence the extradition would breach Mr McKinnon's human rights.
Mr McKinnon, from Wood Green, who has Asperger's syndrome, faces up to 60 years in jail for breaking into the American systems after the 9/11 terror attacks. He says he was looking for evidence of UFOs.
Janis Sharp told Sky News: "Gary isn't trying to avoid being prosecuted, he wants to be prosecuted in the UK which is his right under the Magna Carta." She said her son's actions were a form of "cyber peace process" because he could not understand why the Pentagon's computers were so poorly protected and also believed the 9/11 attacks were "an inside job".
Earlier she told the BBC's Andrew Marr show he should not be extradited even if he did not suffer from Asperger's syndrome. She said the burden of proof in each legal system was different, leaving UK citizens at a disadvantage.
She said her son's mental state was now so fragile that she believed he would commit suicide if jailed. "Many people would rather be dead than be in a prison in America. He's had several breakdowns, he doesn't talk for days, he doesn't eat. A psychiatrist says he's detaching totally from himself. He feels like he's walking through a world that never ends."