'Our confidence is in God,' says minister father of Brit facing extradition to US
A Baptist minister whose son is to be extradited to the United States on hacking charges has spoken of his "confidence" in the justice of God.
A judge ruled today that Lauri Love, 31, who has been an activist with the Occupy movement and who suffers from Asperger's, was arrested in 2013 and charged with hacking US military and Nasa computer networks.
He is alleged to have stolen data from the Federal Reserve, the Department of Defense, NASA and the FBI.
Authorities in the US want him to stand trial in their country, where he could face a sentence of up to 99 years.
District judge Nina Tempia, sitting at Westminster magistrates court, ruled today that he can be extradited to face three trials on the hacking charges.
In effect this means that she is sending his case up to the Secretary of State.
Tempia said the charges are "extremely serious". She acknowledged his mental health issues but was satisfied his needs would met in the US.
Love, from Stradishall in Suffolk, is the son of Rev Alexander Love, a Baptist minister from Scotland who is currently a prison chaplain at HM Prison Highpoint North. His mother also works at the prison.
The minister told Sky News he was very upset by the decision to extradite his son.
"I've been alive for a long time and all my life I've always believed that to be born in these islands was to win the lottery of life, that in our society there was decency and fairness, that our laws were just.
"I don't criticise the judge. She has passed judgement on a law that is flawed. This is not right, that my son can be taken away. It is my belief that it is not fair or just that a boy who's got mental health issues can be taken away from his family who are his support network, merely to satisfy the desire of the Americans to exact what I feel is vengeance on him. This is wrong."
He said that the decision might still be reversed on appeal.
"Our confidence is not just in the legal system. Our confidence is in God. Though I would say one thing. We've had a big discussion about who can come into this country. Let's have a discussion about who can be taken out of it and why they should be taken out."
