An interview with @janissharp by @beezan

 

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J A N I S  S H A R P

‘ I’ve never hated anyone but I hate the prosecutors and their vindictiveness, their lack of compassion … ‘

Janis Sharp is the mother of ‘infamous’ computer hacker, Gary McKinnon, and for the past eight years, she has lived with the fear that her Asperger sufferer son, be extradited to the USA where he could face up to 70 years in a US High Security Prison, alongside murderers, rapists and terrorists. Gary, a naive, peace loving 43 years old, believes in UFOs. He is also convinced the US Government is hiding the truth about the existence of UFOs.

Searching for that truth, Gary, in 2002, aided by The Hackers Handbook, hacked into the hi-tech systems of the Pentagon, NASA and other military sites, from his room in North London. Using an old dial-up computer borrowed from a friend, he was able to gain entry because, astonishingly, none of the highly sensitive sites he infiltrated used any form of computer security. Not even the most basic Firewall or Password, which the most novice of computer users know to install. Yet the Pentagon and NASA, allowed their computers to remain vulnerable for anyone to access. Rather like abandoning a security van, doors wide open with all the gold bullion sitting there for the taking. But what if it had been al Qaeda terrorists instead of Gary McKinnon- hacking into their systems?

Understandably, the Americans must be very embarrassed but do they suppose by making an example of McKinnon they will save their red faces?

Public opinion is that President Obama should offer Gary a job, advising on computer security, not terrorising him with the threat of a life jail sentence.

 ‘Gary is in a really bad way’ his mother claims ‘he is petrified – doesn’t want television on, wont answer the phone and refuses to look in a mirror, into his own eyes, keeps repeating: ‘I’m dead’ ’

Each day she wakes with the fear of Gary’s extradition on her mind. She goes to bed and it is on her mind. She never switches off. There is always so much to do: meetings with their legal team, talking to the media, battling to drum up support for the Free Gary Campaign.

It never stops. Janis never stops. ‘I’m a positive person – I have to be. Gary needs me’ The big family home in North London, has sadly been sold to help pay for Gary’s legal crusade. ‘There’s no time anymore to make a living’ Janis says in her soft Scots accent ‘… so we get poorer’

These days her life is on hold while she pursues the fight to have Gary tried in the UK ‘I feel like the Jewish people must have felt when fighting the Nazis who were coming to drag them from their homes and country to lock them up in some Hellhole’.

Janis worries about everybody. But what about her? ‘I’ll keep fighting. I may have a couple of days where I cry all the time but then I bounce back fighting. ‘This has ruined everybody’s life and it’s all a big nonsense …’

An unexpected boost come from the Liberty Campaign in support of McKinnon. ‘This is the American sister organisation of Liberty ACLU and they have joined us in supporting Gary against extradition. They have also come out against the one-sided extradition treaty with America.’

During the 2010 General Election campaign, Nick Clegg, and David Cameron, promised if they came to power, they would get Gary McKinnon released from this constant threat, and change the unfair pro US Extradiction Treaty. Well the Con-Lib Coalition is now in power.

It is time to keep those pre-Election promises and #FreeGary!

(c) copyright 2010 – Bruna Zanelli – http://www.brunazanelli.com

You also can find more from Bruna on her twitter a/c – http://twitter.com/beezan