London - Extraditing alleged computer hacker Lauri Love to the US would ‘not be in the interests of justice or humanity’, the High Court heard on Wednesday.
The vicar’s son would commit suicide or his mental health would deteriorate so much as to make him unfit for trial, his lawyer argued.
Barrister Edward Fitzgerald QC made the dramatic claim on the first day of an appeal by Mr Love, who suffers from Asperger syndrome, against the decision by a district judge that he should be extradited. Instead, he should be tried in the UK, the lawyer argued.
Mr Love is accused of hacking into the FBI, US Central Bank, Nasa and other agency systems in a spate of attacks in 2012 and 2013. The 32-year-old student faces a sentence of up to 99 years if found guilty.
Experts, his family and supporters say they fear that Mr Love, from Stradishall, Suffolk, would commit suicide rather than face trial in the US.
The Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett and Mr Justice Ouseley are hearing the appeal, which continues at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.