The Reverend Chris Hudson MBE, Chairperson of the Stop Sean Garland Extradition Campaign, has written to An Taoiseach Brian Cowen asking him to personally raise the issue of Sean Garland’s extradition on humanitarian grounds with President Barack Obama. The Reverend Hudson said today that the recent raising by Prime Minister David Cameron of the Gary McKinnon case with President Obama clearly showed that such matters can be raised irrespective of the ongoing legal procedures.

“The computer hacker Gary McKinnon is accused of breaking into the Pentagon’s IT systems. He now faces extradition and up to 60 years in jail. Prime Minister Cameron has said that he had talked with Barack Obama about the McKinnon case during his recent visit to the White House and hoped that ‘a way through’ could be found. While President Obama reiterated the US position on the division of powers within his country he added that he hoped ‘we can find an appropriate solution’.

“We too have a special relationship with America and the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, should follow the example of the Prime Minister and directly raise the matter with the President so that ‘a way through’ can be found. The humanitarian issues raised in relation to Mr McKinnon apply even more so to Sean Garland. He is a septuagenarian veteran of the struggle for peace and justice in Ireland, who is in poor health and extradition to the US could itself constitute a death sentence before he even came to trial.

Issued 24th August 2010