Glaswegian

The UK's High Court ruled Friday that a British hacker cannot appeal his extradition to the country's Supreme Court, narrowing the Londoner's legal options. refused supreme court appeal against extradition to US on charges of breaking into military networks

Gary McKinnon's attorney sought to join the case to an appeal against extradition filed by the attorney for Ian Norris, a British businessman facing charges in the US for alleged involvement in an cartel. The extradition treaty with the US is viewed by many in the UK as enabling the US to extradite people more easily from Britain than is possible in the other direction.

McKinnon may take his case to the European Court of Human Rights, according to his attorney, Karen Todner. That court, however, refused in August 2008 to stop his extradition.

The UK government has given McKinnon's legal team 14 days to consider its options.

"We are not giving up," Todner said in a statement.

Friday's ruling is the latest in a long-running legal battle. The order to extradite McKinnon was approved by the UK government in July 2006, but his legal team continued to challenge the order, holding up his transfer.

The High Court ruled on July 31 that McKinnon's extradition to the US should proceed despite his diagnosis with Asperger Syndrome, a neurological disorder characterised by obsessive behavior and deficiencies in social interaction.

McKinnon had also asked the court to review a refusal by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for England and Wales to prosecute him in the UK.

British prosecutors, however, maintain that the US wants jurisdiction and that most evidence and witnesses are in the US. McKinnon was indicted by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in 2002 for hacking into 97 military and NASA computers between February 2001 and March 2002. He could face up to 60 years in prison.


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