Accused Hacker Fears Guantanamo Bay

A British man accused of hacking into high-level U.S. government computers is afraid he will end up in the U.S. Naval prison at Guantanamo Bay if the U.K. turns him over to American authorities.

Gary McKinnon, who is charged with breaking into military computer systems among others and leaving messages equating the U.S. government's foreign policy with terrorism, argued in a British court Thursday that he should be tried in the U.K.

The U.S. Embassy sent a letter to the courts stating that McKinnon would not be tried in a military tribunal, but the defendants' lawyer argued that the note doesn't hold any weight, according to British media reports

McKinnon is accused of causing about $1 million in damages for a hacking spree that began in 2001. He was arrested the following year. He has been fighting extradition since July 2005. A judge plans to decide May 10, whether or not to turn McKinnon over the U.S. authorities.