A public protest is planned outside the Home Office at noon on Tuesday 15th Dec against the imminent extradition of Gary McKinnon. Gary is being extradited to the USA, where he will face up to 60 years imprisonment for a crime which, if tried in this country, would very likely not warrant a custodial sentence at all.

The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, is now trying to rush the extradition through before Christmas, despite the fact that it is grossly disproportionate to the crime, that the crime itself was committed in the UK, that no evidence or admission has been given for the crime he is actually being extradited for (causing computer damage - hacking alone is not an extraditable offence), and that Gary's actions are mitigated somewhat by the fact that he has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. The eight year pursuit of Gary McKinnon by the US has taken a considerable toll on Gary's mental health, and he is now suicidal, if not sectionable - as indeed many people would be after living with this level of stress for such a length of time.

In spite of all this, the Home Secretary decided on 27th November, against the recommendations of a Commons Home Affairs Select Committee hearing, not to halt the extradition. Mr Johnson claims that he does not have any discretion to intervene, unless the extradition would violate Mr McKinnon's Human Rights. However, it is widely considered, by all accounts bar his own - including by Shami Chakrabati of Liberty, by the Select Committee, by Mr Johnson's own legal adviser, and by a number of eminent barristers from Cherie Blair's Matrix chambers - that as Home Secretary he does indeed have wider discretion to halt the extradition. Why Mr Johnson has appeared to deny and diminish the extent of his discretion to intervene in this case is not entirely clear.

Despite the limited discretion which he does acknowledge, Alan Johnson has nevertheless declined to halt the extradition on Human Rights grounds, and has given Mr McKinnon's solicitors only 14 days to seek Judicial Review of his decision, instead of the customary three months. This was his decision after "careful consideration" of the medical evidence regarding Gary's deteriorating mental health, and the impact of his Asperger's Syndrome on the suffering that extradition would cause him. This is particularly worrying; even an undergraduate understanding of what Asperger's is should have led him to halt the extradition immediately on Human Rights grounds. Yet there is reason to believe that Mr Johnson was furnished with the view of Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, no less, the country's world-reknowned expert on Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

This case is a matter of considerable public interest, because it relates to the extradition treaty between the US and UK, which David Blunkett bafflingly agreed to in 2003. This treaty was signed under Queen's Prerogative, without Parliament having seen the wording. Though Alan Johnson denies it - for reasons best known to himself - the treaty is widely agreed to be grossly one-sided in favour of the US. Regardless of the alleged equivalence of the standards of proof required, the fact remains that under the terms of this treaty, any UK citizen may be extradited to the US without a shred of evidence being provided against them for the crime they are being extradited for. If you doubt this, you need only look to the case of Gary McKinnon. It is happening, under your very nose. Not committing a crime is thus no protection against extradition, should the US decide to take an interest in you, for any reason. The UK do not have the same privilege over US citizens.

This treaty and the McKinnon extradition are denounced by both Liberty, and by the American Civil Liberties Union. To date, the Prime Minister remains suspiciously silent on the matter, and the Home Secretary remains stubbornly steadfast in the face of a torrent of protests to the Home Office, and to Buckingham Palace.

It is hoped that where the courts, the Home Affairs Select Committee, and the Home Secretary's own conscience have failed, a display of public opposition might convince Mr Johnson that this extradition is in nobody's interests.