Text GARY to 65000 to join petition
Two major online campaigns - a text petition and the "Chicago" song download - are being launched this week demonstrating continued, and widespread, public opposition to the extradition of Gary McKinnon.
Time is running out for Gary as he nears the end of legal challenges in the UK courts.
The text petition, spearheaded by Janis Sharp, Gary's mum, and key supporters, urges voters to text "Gary" to 65000, by way of demonstrating their support. Evidence of petitioner numbers will be sent on a regular basis to the Home Secretary, as well as to the Conservative & Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretaries in this, an election year.
The ambition is two-fold, first to give voters an opportunity to directly manifest their frustration at a lack of protection for vulnerable UK citizens such as Gary, and second to encourage the main political parties to reform our imbalanced extradition arrangements as part of their manifesto pledges.
Meanwhile via a Facebook and Twitter campaign, Janis is asking Gary's supporters to download the song "Chicago" recorded last year, with and for, Gary, by international musicians David Gilmour, Bob Geldof and Chrissie Hynde.
Janis said:
"The support and compassion shown by members of the public has been a tremendous boost during our 8 year fight to ensure Gary faces justice in the UK.
"I hope this text campaign helps stir the Government from its stupor of inactivity which is simply fuelling the public's sense of outrage at the unnecessary cruelty of the situation.
"Gordon Brown wrung his hands over the execution of a mentally ill British drugs carrier in China. Yet he and his government remain complicit in the US authorities' hounding of my vulnerable son, despite knowing that, for Gary, extradition amounts to nothing less than a death sentence, given his growing mental instability.
"Why can't the UK just ask our supposedly strongest ally, President Obama, to show clemency towards Gary by cancelling the extradition request and allowing a UK prosecution?
"Sending a text takes seconds. Intervening takes moments. Gary has lived in anguish for years.
"As for the music campaign, I hope President Obama will listen to the reworded version of "Chicago" which is a direct plea to him. If he personally learns of Gary's plight perhaps he may show compassion of his own accord, and allow my son to be tried in Britain."
Last month, Gary's legal team filed an application for judicial review of the Home Secretary's most recent decision not to halt extradition despite overwhelmingly compelling evidence of Gary's mental deterioration, and expert warnings of the onset of psychosis and probable suicide that his extradition would trigger. The courts are still considering this Judicial Review application.
The SMS text message "GARY" to the (UK only) short code 65000 will be charged at normal UK network rates.
You well get a reply e.g.
Thx 4 ur support 4 Gary McKinnon. Pls ask mates 2 txt GARY to 65000. Stop his extradition b4 2 late. We will petition ur support to politicians.
Thx.
Hopefully this will put some more pressure on the UK Government, on behalf of Gary McKinnon, and all the other people who are at risk from the unequal and unjust UK / USA extradition laws and political.expediency at the expense of vulnerable individuals and British sovereignty..
Down load the "Chicago / Change the World" protest song
The song Chicago/Change The World,originally by Graham Nash, now performed by Chrissie Hynde / David Gilmour / Bob Geldof / Gary McKinnon, is available to download via:
Prices currently range from 69p - 99p
Eminent Supporters
The Campaign to halt Gary's extradition has been supported by a growing number of people as well as organisations such as the National Autistic Society and Liberty.
There is regular support for Gary on Twitter and multiple Facebook groups and web forums. Online polls consistently show that the public do not believe he should be extradited.
He is also backed by a wide number of cross-party politicians:
David Cameron MP, Nick Clegg MP, Chris Grayling MP, Chris Huhne MP, James Brokenshire MP, David Burrowes MP, Mayor Boris Johnson, Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP, Keith Vaz MP, Charles Kennedy MP, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Kate Hoey MP, David Blunkett MP, Andrew MacKinley MP, Lord Carlile QC, Vince Cable MP, Simon Hughes MP, Norman Baker MP Tim Loughton MP, Peter Kilfoyle MP, Lord Morris of Manchester, Lord Clement-Jones of Clapham, Alan Simpson MP, Tom Watson MP, among others
and other high profile individuals:
Sarah Brown, Trudie Styler, Sting, David Gilmour, Julie Christie, Peter Gabriel, Keith Duffey, Emma Nobel, Terry Waite CBE, Tony Benn, Nick Hornby, Barry Norman, Jilly Cooper, Trevor Baylis, Dr Dawn Heather, Professor Baron-Cohen, Nadine Stavonina, Peter Howson, Dr. Liz Nelson OBE, Richard Madeley, Jonathan Ross, Stephen Fry and Duncan Bannatyne.
Hopefully this case will soon result in the only sensible solution - the extradition is thrown out.
The US owes McKinnon a debt of gratitude. A harmless, but misguided, individual demonstated that those charged with their system security were incompetent. Better him than a dangerous, misguided organisation that would be willing and able to do significant damage.
Where does the money from people texting this number go to?
It should realy go to the National Autistic society, as should all the donations that are requested on this site, as the NAS have stood by and helped Gary.
And as Free Gary isnt a charity, and peoople are doing this out of the goodness of theit heart, I dont think it would be good or look good for someone, or anyone, to be seen to make a profit from this campaign.
Text Rates are normal STD rates and most people get free Texts so it doesn't cost them anything. No money whatsoever is made by people campaigning for Gary.
It's a Text company that's doing it and they make their money in the same way as any Telephone company does.
Gary and his family and campaigners do not receive one penny from the Text campaign.
Gary's mother will not accept money from anyone to help with the campaign and has received no money from anyone.
Any profits from the download of the song Chicago will go to NAS and to Simon Baron-Cohen's Aspergers charity.
Any donations given to this website are not received by Gary's family; they are donated directly to the person independently running this website to help him to continue to run the website in support of Gary.
No profits whatsoever are made and Gary's mother has not received and will not accept money from anyone for the campaign she is running to help to keep Gary in the U.K
Nas has helped Gary a lot and they have seen their donations increase significantly since they started to help Gary.
NAS have also said that Gary's case has significantly raised awareness of Aspergers throughout the country and beyond.
It's great to see that Gary's case has helped NAS and has helped raise the profile of NAS, which is very fitting as NAS have helped Gary so much.
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