Gary McKinnon Protest - Sunday, 28th September

Post Reply New Topic

The London Autistic Rights Movement is planning to hold a protest about the possible extradition of Gary
McKinnon outside the US Embassy at Grosvenor Square on the 28th September (a Sunday) from about 4 pm. This will
go ahead even if McKinnon has already been extradited - 'bring him
home' is as good a slogan as 'don't send him away'.

This protest is being called because Gary McKinnon, who hacked into Pentagon computers, and who is autistic, is facing a lifetime in a US jail for his 'crime' which he carried out in pursuit of his conviction that the US government is covering up evidence of UFOs. London ARM believes this kind of jail term far outweighs the severity of his crime, and does not reflect the fact that, like many aspies, the way he percieves and deals with the world lead him to courses of action that may not in any real way harm anyone, but are regarded by the NT world as "unacceptable".

We are going to try and get wider allies on board, including Liberty,
Amnesty International, the UK Disabled Peoples Council, and others,
such as local Stop the War Groups and any interested political
parties. Anyone who is interested in joining in should come along at the appointed time.

Hacking into the Pentagon's computer is a serious crime, and the hacker should face justice for it, if only to serve as a deterrent to others whose intentions are far more malevolent, however negligeable the impact actually is. How is the government supposed to know what the hacker's intent is? Plus, the fact that he's trying to make a statement about autism is not an acceptable excuse.

Plus, we don't know yet how severe his punishment will be, because he still has to be tried for his crime.

Sorry if I seem unsympathetic to his cause. There's nothing I want more than to feel accepted by the rest of the world. But threatening a nation's security is not something I can support.

Please don't. We don't need any more of the stereotype of autistics as hackers with no consciences. And autism is not a legitimate excuse for criminal behavior.

Whether Gary is guilty of any crime or not, or whether he is autistic or not, or whether any harm was done or not, are irrelevant - HE SHOULD NOT BE EXTRADITED TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. It is outrageous that the British government are not standing up to the bullying USA in this matter. It is also outrageous that this has been dragging on since 2002! All Gary wanted was to expose the fact that the USA government has the technology to be able to provide free energy, and are deliberately withholding it.

If I lived in Britain, I would most certainly be attending this protest .

so, how did it all go?

(elaborating on Kelsi's question)
To the Brittons among us:
Did you attend the protest?
If so - How was it?

..."Thanks to everyone who demonstrated their support for Gary McKinnon at the US Embassy on Sunday
September 29, 2008 10:40 PM

Thanks to everyone, from the London Autistic Rights Movement and Gary McKinnon's other friends, who demonstrated their support for Gary at the US Embassy on Sunday.

The protest was entirely peaceful and well organised.

Hopefully someone at the US Embassy has had to write a report about it, and the issue of unfair extradition to the USA, for their superiors back in Washington DC."

http://freegary.org.uk/

Here is a documentary video about the protest:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNvbh3LM0UQ[/youtube]

A recut version of the documentary, with better sound:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JykjcYWdB9o[/youtube]

Who is the woman in the video, btw? Anyone we know?

I wish Gary luck

Personally I believe they should go ahead and extradite him. If he wants to use AS as excuse he present to the judge in the US where he will get a fair trial trial as he is entitled to in the US constitution. He disabled pentagon computers just months after 9-11 putting people lives pontentially at risk that is serious. My two cents