There will be further demonstrations in support of Gary McKinnon, who is facing imminent extradition to the United States of America, rather than facing a UK court, for his alleged computer hacking activities over 6 years ago.
It is intended that a letter to President-Elect Barack Obama will be handed in to the Embassy of the United States of America in London.
Date: Friday 5th December
Time: 5 pm -7pm
Location:
Embassy of the United States of America,
24 Grosvenor Square
London
W1A 2LQ
Media Contacts: - being arranged - email info@FreeGary.org.uk
Location Maps:
At some convenient time during this demonstration, a letter will also be handed in to the Office of Tony Blair. The former British Prime Minister, who is now a Middle East Peace envoy, and involved with charities and lucrative public speaking, is likely to be involved, behind the scenes, in UK and US foreign policy and security discussions.
The Office of Tony Blair, which costs over half a million pounds a year in rent alone, is situated nearby at the north east corner of Grosvenor Square, in the historic John Adams house, at number 9 Grosvenor Square, on the corner with Brook Street and Duke Street. John Adams was the first United States Minister to the Court of St. James's i.e. Ambassador, and the second President of the United States. He lived there from 1785 to 1788.
Some advice about demonstrations in central London:
Photography
Amateur and even professional press photographers are all too frequently illegally harassed by jobsworth public officials and security guards, partly as a result of the Home Office's "climate of fear" anti-terrorism propaganda.
There are no laws which prevent you taking photos at the demonstration (ideally, if it is to have any effect, the mainstream media should be present), and the US Embassy is not anything special as a building, except that it is the sovereign territory of our major ally.
There is nothing special about 9 Grosvenor Square, the Office of Tony Blair, either.
No Police Community Support Officer or private security guard or any US Embassy staff (outside of the Embassy grounds) has any power to seize your camera or mobile camera phone.
Even if you are arrested, the Police Constables (not PCSOs or private security guards who have no powers of arrest) have no power to delete digital photos etc. even if they have seized your camera or mobile phone, since that would be tampering with evidence.
Conversely, there are no laws to prevent the Police or security guards from taking photos or video of you, either.
Terrorism Stop and Search harassment
All of London within the M25 orbital motorway appears to be an area, designated in secret, where Police constables in uniform (and Police Community Support Officers in uniform, but only under the direct supervision of a Police Constable, not on their own), can conduct Terrorism Act 2000 section 44 stops and searches, without reasonable suspicion.
The US Embassy is one of the top terrorist targets in Europe, let alone the UK, and so it does have armed Police guards.
The Metropolitan Police Constables in Uniform (not any plain clothes police) can stop you and search you, supposedly for weapons or explosives or anything that might be used for terrorism (i.e. just about anything). Despite tens of thousands of such stops and searches, they have never caught a real terrorist as a result.
If you are stopped and searched under normal Police powers, where there is some "reasonable suspicion", then you do have to give your name and address. If you refuse to do so on the street, then you will be dragged back to a Police station for fingerprint etc. checks on your identity
If you are stopped and searched under Terrorism Act section 44, without reasonable suspicion, then you do not have to give your name and address.
You have to be given a Stop and Search form, stating where, when, and by whom you have been stopped, and under what law. However, if you do not demand one, then you will not necessarily be given such a form.
What the Police and PCSOs often try to do, during such searches, is to copy, or at least rifle through, any wallet or notebook or mobile phone address books, credit cards etc. which you might have on your person, so do not bring private stuff with you on such a demonstration.
What to bring on a demonstration
- A sense of humour.
- Several friends and supporters.
- Press and Broadcast journalists and reporters.
- Posters, banners, leaflets, petitions etc.
- If you smoke, something to collect and extinguish your cigarette butts in - Westminster Council bylaws and Government Anti-social behaviour laws and policies, could allow various public officials to slap you with a £60 Fixed Penalty Notice for littering if you throw you cigarette butt onto the ground.
- Something (non-alcoholic) to drink and eat etc.
- An umbrella (summer is over).
- Cameras and video recorders
- Spare batteries and USB or other memory devices for digital cameras and mobile phone cameras.
- Contact details of firms of legal solicitors who deal with human rights issues and arrests at demonstrations e.g. Bindmans - telephone: 020 7833 4433 or Kaim Todner - telephone: 020 7353 6660 (Gary McKinnon's solicitors)
- N.B. Unlike the demonstration at the Home Office, loudspeakers / loud hailers etc. are not banned in Grosvenor Square. (non-amplified megaphones are not banned in either place) - some of Gary's supporters have loud enough voices not to actually require megaphones !
What NOT to bring to a demonstration
- Alcohol - even Police Community Support Officers now have powers to confiscate alcohol within a Dispersal Zone. All of the London boroughs of Westminster and Camden are now such Dispersal Zones.
- Being seen to be drinking alcohol on Transport for London Tubes or Buses is also now banned.
- Illegal drugs - obviously.
- Personal address and contact books or Mobile Phones or Personal Digital Assistants containing contact names, addresses, email, phone etc. details - jobsworth PCSOs and Police constables often attempt to rifle through these, during "stops and searches", even when they often have no proper legal power to do so.
- If you must bring your normal mobile phone with you, then you should set a security PIN code, for both for the power on and keyboard locks, which might prevent arbitrary snooping, but which will not, of course, prevent forensic examination of the phone if you are arrested.
Hello! Where is everybody?
Teresa,
At home, looking around, tired of everything, and wanting/waiting to see something good happen.
Take care
Taking a break in Mexico. But still thinking of you Gary and rooting for the best. Its been a long time since I discovered the whole thing and am not happy that you are being made out to be a criminal and or a terorist. By far you are not that profile and as I have been watching over the years I feel that I have got to know you a bit and what is going on is not fair for you and your family. It should not have gone this way. As soon as you, like the gentleman you are, brought the security situation to the attention of the authorities by leaving note for the administrators, you should have been nothing short of but thanked for exposing the critical flaw.
Very bored now in Mexico, has been only 4 days and the sun and palm trees are very nice but so ready to get back to buiness being a work alchoholic and all. Just a thought, what the hell went on with yourcase anyways. Has the whole world gone mad. You did no damage nor did you hae any kind of malicious intent. And intent is everything after all. Even to a Justice. I miss my servers. Cant wait to get back to Canada. Sometimes I am scared because I know too much. Studying for the CISSP exam riht now. Brought the book with me to Mexico...
Tuesday 25th, small 'Guardian' article about Gerald Toben the Australian man who Germany want extradited from here for Holocaust Denial. Our High Court has thrown out an appeal by them against a bar on his extradition. Imagine that, our High Court defending a citizen against unfair extradition! And he isn't even our citizen, and his alleged crime was a hate crime - unlike our Gary's computer dabbling, which was harmful to no-one. Fair play,Tobin should not be extradited - but then neither should Gary.
You being scared because you know too much resonates strongly, Elle - The US administration and our lot must be scared because Gary knows too much about things they want kept to themselves, safe and free new energy sources, for example. Why else would they be acting in such a blinkered and sinister way in this case?
For those taking cameras there is a FREE DOWNLOAD - The UK Photographers Rights Guide available here.
Print off a few (to hand-out to other happy-snappers) and keep them in clear plastic sleeves.
Be prepared by knowing your rights and letting the police see that you know your rights under law -(but equally don't give the police any justifiable excuses to hassle you).
Also photographers might find of interest these two articles in Press Gazette:
Concern is rising that the police are abusing powers
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=41516
Photographers lobby Parliament over police curbs
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=40875
A tape recorder might be useful as well.
Good luck!
PS If you get any good snaps, think about uploading one to Wikipedia . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon
-
They should sell MPs heads as those old 'nodding dogs' things - just like my grandad had on the parcel shelf of his Austin Maxi in the 1970s...
Gary is number 11 on myspace. I guess this may change by the time you view it:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.charts&category=9
Another song, great video !
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=46239776&searchid=02212f9c-5cda-470b-bbba-0223477f01d6
Teresa B, who lives in Berkeley is trying to bring together a group of campaigners to join demonstrations in support of Gary McKinnon at US Embassy in London on Friday 5th December 2008, 5pm - 7pm
British citizen Gary McKinnon, is facing "fast track" extradition to the USA, after over six years since his initial arrest. Gary was indicted by a US court in November 2002, accused of "hacking" into over 90 US Military computer systems from here in the UK.
Teresa B said: "Gary McKinnon has always admitted computer misuse, but always denied causing the alleged damage. It is wrong that any U.K citizen facing extradition is not allowed to challenge the allegations in a court of law but is only allowed to fight the extradition on Human Rights grounds. I would welcome others to come along on Friday 5th December. Please call Philip Booth on 01453 755451 so we can all link up."
Philip Booth, a local District Councillor who has also supported the Free Gary campaign on his blog site, said: "A Green party colleague has been in touch with Gary’s mum, Janis, and she said: ‘Gary is a vegetarian and a gentle pacifist who has Asperger’s Syndrome but his extradition has been relentlessly pursued by both the U.K and the American governments as though he is a terrorist. She says the European Court on Human Rights has turned down Gary's appeal but that it accepted Abu Hamza's and allowed him a stay, even though the Human Rights Points presented to the ECHR for Gary were virtually identical in both cases.’"
Philip Booth added: "The U.K government has perversely signed a one sided extradition treaty that has given more rights to American citizens as we in the U.K have to provide actual proof/evidence before we can extradite a U.S citizen. There have been cross-party calls for an assurance that Gary McKinnon will be repatriated following a conviction in the US. Gordon Brown must now ensure that happens if the courts finally decided on Friday 5th to extradite."
An Early Day Motion set up to stop the extradition was signed by Forest MP Mark Harper but not by David Drew MP.
this was meant for the local (Glos) papers, not much use on here so sorry to waste space. Philip Booth thought some local publicity would be a good idea, but seems to have done a 'blitz' in sending copies around. He's a lovely chap, and i wish all politicians were like him - but as Kermit knows, its not easy being green!
All power to you people out there who are supporting Gary. God bless you all.
Best wishes.
bill lumsden
For goodness sake, extradite him. Look at the trouble he has caused, he is a serial hacker and deserves to be punished. His excuses are just total lies. He seriously damaged computers belonging to a British ally and NATO partner. Let him be tried in USA and make an example of him.
The American government is causing the trouble by trying to extradite countless British citizens that are not Terrorists.
Didn't you bother to read the previous posts; why aren't you shouting for us to extradite the American citizens responsible for terrorism and war crimes.
How dare America think it can extradite our computer nerds, our bookmakers, our airline executives, our businessmen and our entrepreneurs, plus all the others and then allow those that can pay millions of pounds in fines to America to stay in the U.K(The fines are clearly a form of extortion)
How dare the U.K government sell out it's own citizens by signing in secret, an extradition treaty with America that removed the rights of U.K citizens to have evidence produced before extradition could take place and for the same U.K government to increase the rights of American citizens so that we in the U.K have tp provide evidence in order to extradite any American.
It's not Mr. McKinnon that is causing the trouble, it's the unscrupulous governments that are allowing any British citizen to be torn from the land they were born in for non violent crimes, if crimes they are, and without a shred of evidence having to be produced by America.
You are pushing British people too far and they won't take it any more.
Whatever happened to the proposed introduction of Forum? All forgotten it seems.
Piran,
The word "serial hacker" is very dumb though, but it may be used in any game you play on your computer.
"He seriously damaged"
WTF? Are you God who looks and knows what peeople are doing?
Your comment is a serial bulshit. Doesnt make sense or any right!
Non anonymous, from Belgium
Piran's comments show how ignorant people are of what is at stake here.
"Look at the trouble he has caused, he is a serial hacker and deserves to be punished"
What trouble has he caused? He was arrested by UK authorities who decided not to prosecute, presumably due to lack of evidence.
"He seriously damaged computers"
Really? I've yet to see any case of hacking that has shown serious damage to computer systems. Virus, Trojans and other malicious software have been shown to cause data damage, not physical damage to the computers themselves.
"Let him be tried in USA and make an example of him"
This is the crux of the matter isn't it? He is a UK citizen that committed a crime on UK soil. All the US has to do is name the individual and ask to extradite them (no charges actually need to be laid) and off you go to the US for trial, unless of course your flight is re-routed through Cuba or some other country with US "terrorist" camps.
No-one here is arguing Gary's innocence for hacking. What we're arguing for is the basic human right to a fair trial.