UK Court Says Lauri Love Can Be Extradited To Face Hacking Charges In The US

from the big-brothers-gotta-stick-together dept

Fri, Sep 16th 2016 9:34am — Tim Cushing

Lauri Love, the British hacker the DOJ has been dying to get its hands on, has just been handed over to the US by his own government. The decision issued today [PDF] basically states that honoring extradition agreements is more important than any concerns issued about Love's health and well-being once handed over to US federal agents.

Mr Love’s Article 8 rights are clearly engaged. In balancing the factors for and against extradition I am satisfied that the very strong counter-balancing factors required to find extradition would be disproportionate are not found in this case. Mr Love faces extremely serious charges for offences of computer hacking over a period of one year from October 2012 to October 2013. I accept Mr Love suffers from both physical and mental health issues but I have found the medical facilities in the United States prison estate on arrival and during any sentence if he is convicted available to him, are such that I can be satisfied his needs will be comprehensively met by the US authorities.

I am satisfied Mr Love’s extradition would be compatible with his Convention rights and I send this case to the Secretary of State for her decision as to whether or not Mr Love should be extradited.

Once in the US, authorities have promised to address Love's mental and physical health concerns by placing him in "segregated housing" while determining if he's capable of being housed in the general population. As anyone who's followed prosecutions of whistleblowers and hackers knows, "segregated housing" is just a colorful term for "solitary confinement" -- not generally known to improve the mental well-being of people who've already expressed suicidal thoughts.

On top of a trip to solitary, Love will be facing charges from three jurisdictions related to the alleged hacking of multiple government/government contractor websites and databases.

Mr Love is accused in three indictments in three districts as follows:

(i) Southern District of New York – Mr Love faces two counts on Indictment, one of computer hacking (maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment) and one of aggravated identity theft (maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment to be imposed consecutively to the sentence for count 1).

(ii) The New Jersey request details two counts on one indictment. One count is conspiracy to access a computer without authorisation and obtain information from a department or agency of the United States (maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment) and one of accessing a computer without authorisation and obtaining information from a department or agency of the United States (maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment).

(iii) The Eastern District of Virginia request contains nine counts on an Indictment, count 1 – conspiracy to cause damage to a protected computer and to commit access device fraud (maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment); counts 2 -7 – causing damage to a protected computer and aiding and abetting (maximum sentence of 5 years imprisonment); count 8 – access device fraud and aiding and abetting (maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment) and count 9 – aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting (maximum sentence of 2 years imprisonment).

There's little to be gained by adding up the maximum possible jail sentence facing Love. Rest assured, if convicted, it will likely be over a decade. Consolidation of the cases and charges is likely, but more than one of the charges carry possible 10-year sentences.

Meanwhile, back in the UK, Love has managed to escape being jailed for refusing to turn over passwords and encryption keys to law enforcement. UK investigators fought hard to force Love -- who they've never formally charged -- to crack open multiple seized devices for them. This attempt was shot down in May by a judge who viewed this as an end run around protections built into RIPA, the laws governing law enforcement's investigatory powers.

The final decision on Love's extradition is in the hands of Elizabeth Truss, the recently-appointed Secretary of State for Justice. Truss' previous government work doesn't really provide much guidance on which side she'll come down on this, but her voting record tends to indicate she's more sympathetic to national security/law enforcement interests than those of her constituents. Considering the UK and US have a very cozy surveillance relationship, it stands to reason Truss will likely decide to appease the DOJ, rather than overturn the court's decision.

Usa-v-Love-Judgment (PDF)Usa-v-Love-Judgment (Text)

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: cfaa, extradition, hacking, lauri love, uk, us

30 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 9:54am

Say what?
extradition agreements is more important than any concerns issued about Love's health and well-being

I am not familiar with this case, what happened, the seriousness of the charges, etc. But I have to scratch my head on this one. So if a "criminal" expresses concern about their health and well being, they shouldn't be tried, convicted and imprisoned?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ninja (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 9:54am

Considering the atrocious, monstrous treatment Chelsea Manning is having to endure the guy is on for a living hell. And if he really tries the suicide route he'd better succeed or he'll be subjected to double the torture.

USA, land of the free, home of the brave. (read with intense sarcasm)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 9:59am

The US know that if it ever feels a need to have it's ass kissed... England's lips are ready and eager.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 10:23am

Re: Say what?
Many countries consider the US prison system to be inhumane and in violation of established international norms for human rights (they're not wrong); combine that with actually caring about their citizens (even a little), and you have a situation where courts considering extradition will take the mental state of the accused into account before giving them over to the gulag...er..."corrections" system in America.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ninja (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 10:28am

Re: Say what?
Is he really? He wasn't convicted in the UK for other supposed crimes as far as you can get from the article. And even if he is a criminal, loss of freedom is what the punishment should be. Not torture, not cruelty. And the US doesn't have a good reputation there.

Even if it's the worst of the criminals, going down to his/her level does no good.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 10:43am

Re:
Land of the fee, home of the slave
[ link to this | view in thread ]
MadAsASnake (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 10:54am

I take it as read that these agencies have free reign to hack into anyone elses computer (including the accused, and have probably done so) without fear of prosecution. I wonder how the irony is lot on them.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:00am

"medical facilities in the United States prison estate on arrival and during any sentence if he is convicted available to him, are such that I can be satisfied his needs will be comprehensively met by the US authorities"

It's been implied that he is a suicide risk.At what point is keeping someone alive by force while in prison for say 99 yrs (max sentence for his alleged offence), supposing that thay are of sound mind and decide they want to die, and that they are not a risk to society, at what point is that torture or 'cruel and unusual punishment'. Force-feeding drugs to keep a person alive until they die naturally seems an odd way of meeting a person's 'needs'.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:14am

Re:
I wonder if they are eventually unable to keep the whole body alive they could find a way to put just the brain on some sort of artificial life support. Then they could send occasional electrical shocks to it to keep punishing it even after the body gave out.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:16am

Re: Re:
Land of the excessive fee, home of the cowardly slave.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:22am

Re: Re: Say what?
Way to put words in my mouth. As I stated, I don't know what the crime or severity of crime is here. Where do you see that he is going to be actually tortured other than accusations by the author here? If the crime he committed was against the US and not the UK then why would he need to be convicted in the UK to be sent to the US?

What I do know is we would have empty prisons if all you have to do to stay out of them is threaten suicide.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:23am

Re:
Don't think the US wouldn't hand over a citizen to the UK for prosecution. They would do it in a heart beat.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:29am

Re: Re:
"just the brain on some sort of artificial life support"

Hmmm, for lifers this would be a great way to cut down costs and prison violence. Neat little jars, all in a row, each brain in a solution of nutrients and a little probe to give a quick but exquisitely painful ZAP in the event of a deviant thought. Ban birth control, require annual breeding, .... profit !!!! I'm dreaming of the IPO already.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Richard (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:32am

Re: Re: Re: Say what?
y would he need to be convicted in the UK to be sent to the US?
It beats me how someone who has never visited the US can be guilty of a crome under US law. It looks like the US wants to impose its laws on everyone else in the world.

Since people in th UK don't have a say in US laws this would seem to be one step worse than the complaint that started the AMerican revolution.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:41am

I bet the FBI will recruit her.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Roger Strong (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:51am

Re: Re: Re:
Brilliant. Prison would only be the test market for your DRM scheme.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Roger Strong (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 11:53am

Re:
Him.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
teknosapien (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 12:35pm

All the while
A male in the US can rape a unconscious female and get away with 3 months
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 1:09pm

"the cowardly slave"
Slaves are commonly oppressed beyond their ability to fight back effectively. They are cowed, yes, but not necessarily cowardly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 1:10pm

Re: Re: Say what?
I am American.

The prison system is inhumane. The international norms for human rights can kiss my fucking ass despite that. The "international" community is a Globalist one that serves ONLY the ultra rich.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 1:13pm

Rape in the US
A man can coerce sex from a 13-year-old girl and still become a major-party-nominaed candidate for president.

I'd say we don't like women much, but I think we are just so embarassed about rape that we'd rather not admit it at all.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 1:38pm

" but I have found the medical facilities in the United States prison estate on arrival and during any sentence if he is convicted available to him, are such that I can be satisfied his needs will be comprehensively met by the US authorities."

Besides all the other ridiculousness of this case, this statement alone is just utter bullshit and anyone that has even just read anything about the state of our prison system and the way people are treated there knows that it's completely false. Then add in the fact of what he's accused of doing and it gets even worse.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That One Guy (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 2:55pm

Re: Say what?
It's something like this:

If treating a prisoner in a certain fashion is illegal in the 'source' country, and there's good odds that if extradited they will be treated like that in the other country, extradition is supposed to be refused as extradition in that case is enabling illegal treatment of a prisoner.

As an example: If County A doesn't allow prisoners to be put into solitary confinement, and Country B does allow that, then if it can be reasonably expected that someone extradited to Country B from Country A will be subject to solitary confinement then the extradition should be refused.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Padpaw (profile), 16 Sep 2016 @ 8:00pm

Tyranny
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Sep 2016 @ 8:05pm

Re:
Ah, but you did not read the weasel-words carefully enough.

Both "available to him" and "his needs" are determined by the state. Or more likely, the for-profit institution running the prison.

He won't need cancer medication, because energy drinks and prayer are enough to see him through.

But then, it's no garden of roses on the other side of the pond, either.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
David, 17 Sep 2016 @ 3:30pm

Re: Re:
So when is Clapper extradited to the UK for hacking charges?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 19 Sep 2016 @ 5:46pm

Re: All the while
And a woman can claim rape and destroy an innocent mans life...

Regretting sex after getting intoxicated and passing out with another is not rape.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 19 Sep 2016 @ 6:42pm

False accusations of rape
Oh do tell, how often does that happen?

(Sexual assault incidents in 2014 were 1.1 per 1000 people, which is way down from 1993 in which it was 4.3 per 1000.)

I'm sure that the rare sociopath will fake rape to ruin lives, but I'd expect the frequency of offenders to be about as rare as sexual killers.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 21 Sep 2016 @ 4:45am

Re: False accusations of rape
Oh do tell, how often does that happen?

More often than we'd like to admit.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Uriel-238 (profile), 22 Sep 2016 @ 12:46pm

Re: Re: False accusations of rape
Please elaborate. Cite your sources. I'll give you Mike Tyson, but how often? Once a year per 10,000,000 capita? Find me a figure.

This is serious business. Paranoia and ambiguity don't fly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]