Pentagon hacker allegedly threatened with Guantanamo Bay military tribunal

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According to the Observer newspaper this morning Gary McKinnon, the British hacker accused of what US prosecutors refer to the biggest military computer hack of all time, has claimed he was threatened with a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay. His lawyers are using this as part of their defence against his extradition, arguing that such an attempt at getting McKinnon to accept a plea bargain were an unlawful abuse of the court process.

The Observer claims the lawyers say that US prosecutors suggested "he would be treated like a terrorist" if he did not agree to plead guilt at a US based trial.

McKinnon will find out sometime on Wednesday if the UK House of Lords will allow his appeal against extradition to the US on those charges, following a decision in favour of US prosecutors by the UK High Court back in 2006.

If found guilty of the charges against him, McKinnon faces up to 60 years in prison for the alleged hacking exercise for which he was arrested way back in 2002. McKinnon has always claimed he was just looking for proof that the US government knew aliens existed and that UFO sightings had been officially confirmed.

According to the Observer story, his supporters claim that if McKinnon had agreed to a deal offered during secret meetings at the US embassy in London, which involved the hacker pleading guilty at an American trial, he could have got a maximum of four years and even serve most of that in the UK.

Unfortunately, the Observer says, a file containing details of early meetings with US prosecutors during which the offer was made has gone missing from McKinnon's solicitor's office.

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flagged the Observer report that the US prosecution’s handling of Gary McKinnon included what his team described as coercive plea offers and even talk of military-style treatment. That specific complaint — whether plea bargaining of that kind could amount to an “abuse of process” in extradition proceedings — was the certified legal question the House of Lords considered in 2008. The Law Lords examined the plea‑bargain evidence in detail and dismissed McKinnon’s appeal. (publications.parliament.uk)

“Guantanamo” and “military tribunal” have a very particular legal meaning. Military commissions at Guantánamo have been used to try persons designated as unlawful enemy combatants for terrorism/war‑crimes offences, and U.S. Supreme Court decisions and subsequent statutes tightly circumscribed that jurisdiction. Ordinary criminal conduct — including most computer‑intrusion cases — is normally prosecuted in federal courts, not by military commission. That helps explain why threat of a Guantánamo trial would be unusual for a civilian hacker, but why the suggestion of exceptional treatment mattered legally. (congress.gov)

The case did not end with the 2008 hearing. After further legal steps and medical evidence about McKinnon’s health, then‑Home Secretary Theresa May blocked his extradition on human‑rights grounds in October 2012; UK prosecutors later decided not to pursue charges. The campaign and litigation prompted renewed scrutiny of the UK–US extradition framework and proposals for a “forum” reform to reduce similar tensions. (feeds.bbci.co.uk)

Short, practical takeaway for later readers: the Guantánamo/military‑tribunal angle is legally significant only if there is a real, demonstrable risk of treatment outside normal criminal process. The House of Lords judgment and the UK government timeline are primary documents for what happened and why — start with those for the legal reasoning and chronology. (publications.parliament.uk)

(Additional note: ’s “phew” summed up public reaction at the time — the headlines were dramatic, but the legal record shows careful judicial focus on procedure and human‑rights safeguards.)

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Maulth 4 Junior Poster in Training

Phew, that's some crazy stuff right there.

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