kopiert aus quelle:
http://freegary.org.uk/Daily Mail: You CAN save Gary McKinnon: MPs' bombshell letter explodes Home Secretary's claim that law makes him powerless to halt extradition
By fg on November 13, 2009 1:17 AM | 15 Comments
The Daily Mail reports on the letter from the House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs, which has an inbuilt Labour government majority, and is chaired by the former Labour Minister Keith Vaz:
You CAN save Gary McKinnon: MPs' bombshell letter explodes Home Secretary's claim that law makes him powerless to halt extradition
By James Slack and Michael Seamark
Last updated at 1:13 AM on 13th November 2009
Alan Johnson was last night told by a powerful group of MPs that he can and must halt the extradition of Gary McKinnon.
In a devastating letter, the Home Affairs Select Committee flatly rejected Mr Johnson's claim that he is powerless to intervene.
[...]
The letter from Mr Vaz - a former minister - to the Home Secretary says: 'We received a clear legal opinion... that the scope for the exercise of discretion by the Home Secretary is greater than you believe.
'Because of Mr McKinnon's precarious state of mental health, the Committee is of the view that he should not be extradited to the U.S.A. and you should exercise your discretion in this case.'
[...]
Liberal Democrat spokesman Chris Huhne said: 'The Home Affairs Select Committee is telling Alan Johnson what he has already been told and what he should have known.
'It is not in the interests of justice to send a British citizen with mental health problems to face decades in an American jail.
'The Home Secretary must put an end to this shameful episode and then renegotiate the extradition treaty so this fiasco is not repeated.'
The evidence the Mail obtained from human rights QC Tim Owen and Julian Knowles, a leading extradition lawyer, categorically stated: 'The Extradition Act 2003 gives the English courts the primary responsibility - but, importantly, not the exclusive responsibility - for ensuring that... safeguards are maintained. This is because both the courts and the Home Secretary have a role to play in extradition.
'It is therefore plain that the Home Secretary has the power - and indeed the duty - to intervene in any extradition case even after the court process has ended if the evidence establishes that there is a real risk of a human rights breach should extradition proceed.
'Statements made to the contrary by the Government are obviously and plainly wrong.'
Lord Carlile, Mr Johnson's adviser on terror laws, has also said he is satisfied that the minister does have the power.
He said placing Gary at the mercy of the U.S. courts would be 'disproportionate, unnecessary and unconscionable'.
Why is it so hard for this Labour government to admit that they are wrong ?
Last night, a Home Office spokesman said: 'The Home Secretary has maintained throughout the proceedings that he has no general discretion to refuse extradition. At this stage in the case the sole issue is whether extradition would, or would not, breach Mr McKinnon's human rights.
'Unless the evidence shows that extradition would breach the European Convention on Human Rights it would be unlawful to refuse extradition.'
The Daily Telegraph: Gary McKinnon's mother in tears after snub from Alan Johnson
By fg on November 11, 2009 11:22 AM | 5 Comments
The Daily Telegraph reports about the depressing performance of Home Secretary Alan Johnson at the House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs oral evidence session on extradition:
Gary McKinnon's mother in tears after snub from Alan Johnson
The mother of Gary McKinnon, the internet hacker fighting extradition to the United States, broke down in tears yesterday after Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, allegedly refused to talk to her.
By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent
Published: 6:50PM GMT 10 Nov 2009
During a break in a hearing before a House of Commons committee, Janis Sharp attempted to discuss her son's case with Mr Johnson, who shook her hand but walked on in silence.
Earlier, Mrs Sharp had given moving evidence in which she told MPs that the 43-year-old autism sufferer would rather die than be extradited to the United States.
[...]
Presumably this was witnessed by the journalists reporting on this Select Committee session, but the Home Office spin doctors seem to be pushing a different version of the encounter.
It was alleged that Mr Johnson "snubbed" Mrs Sharp during the hearing on Tuesday, but a Home Office spokesman has denied the claim.
"It is not true that the Home Secretary walked pass Mrs Sharpe in silence.
[...]
When Mr Johnson appeared before the committee, however, he said that he had no discretion over the extradition process, and was merely considering the new medical evidence while Mr McKinnon's lawyers considered whether to refer his case to the European Court in Strasbourg.
[...]
Daily Telegraph: Alan Johnson to be grilled by MPs over his decision to extradite Gary McKinnon
By fg on October 20, 2009 8:01 AM | 12 Comments
The House of Commons Select Committee on Home Affairs, chaired by Keith Vaz MP, is
The Daily Telegraph reports:
Alan Johnson to be grilled by MPs over his decision to extradite Gary McKinnon
Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, is set to be questioned publicly by an all-party committee of MPs over his decision to extradite computer hacker Gary McKinnon to America.
By Christopher Hope, Whitehall Editor
Published: 7:00AM BST 20 Oct 2009
[....]
The Daily Telegraph has learned that the Commons' home affairs select committee is planning to a special session to examine how the treaty has been used by prosecutors, and whether the home secretary should be given discretion to try cases in the UK.
The MPs will also want to examine why US lawyers need only demonstrate "reasonable suspicion" for an extradition warrant to be granted in Britain. There is no reciprocal agreement for the Crown Prosecution Service in America.
Witnesses to be called to give evidence include Mr Johnson, the Home Secretary, and the family of Mr McKinnon, who suffers from autism, sources said.
Keith Vaz MP, the committee's chairman, said: "When considering this Treaty, the principal of reciprocity has long been contentious. I support calls for a review of this treaty in order to get the best deal for UK citizens.
"The case of Gary McKinnon highlights the difficulties in the current extradition relationship between the UK and the US. It is clear that the US got a better deal from the Extradition Treaty.
"The Treaty needs to allow Ministerial discretion in exceptional circumstances such as the case of Gary McKinnon.
"Ministers should always be able to intervene in these circumstances. The Home Affairs Committee will be looking at this issue in the future."
Separately Conservative peers will today seek to amend the legislation by attaching amendment to the Policing and Crime Bill which would allow prosecutors to bring charges in the UK if the crime was committed here.
David Burrowes, the shadow justice minster and Mr McKinnon's MP, said: "This is a good opportunity for Parliament to provide a degree of fairness and justice to the extradition arrangements, and help people like Gary to have justice in this country."
[...]