Mickey Mouse extraditions …

Sorry about the downtime … busy life … this one couldn’t wait though.

The BBC has reported that a UK student is to be extradited to the US. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-16544335

Apparently the “crime” he committed isn’t actually a crime in the UK.
Nobody in the UK has voted for this law. Not Parliament. Not the electorate.

We were sold the extradition treaty on the basis that it would prevent terrorism. Not that it would be used to enforce Micky’s commercial interests.

I’ve written to my MP (through http://www.theyworkforyou.com/).

Here’s the text (I’ve added some bolding). Maybe a bit more formal than my normal style, but I think it speaks for itself

I’m writing to express my disquiet at the decision to extradite Richard O’Dwyer.
I do not know Mr. O’Dwyer, and I’m not writing this letter as part of any organised campaign.
I’ve had serious concerns over the process to extradite others under this arrangement, but then, at least, there was the excuse of the national interest – for example, with a threat on Pentagon security.

Let me also say that I do not endorse copyright theft. You may remember from my letter in February 2010 that I am in favour of enforcing copyright.
I have been generally cheered by the government’s intention to adopt the proposals in the Hargreaves Report, which I believe will introduce a reasonable balance between rightsholders and citizens.
As a consequence, I believe it that there are (or shortly will be) proportionate civil remedies under UK law.

As I understand it, Mr. O’Dwyer’s actions do not contravene UK law.

Britons have had no say in the election of the US representatives who passed the legislation.
To paraphrase the cry of the American Revolutionaries, I would say “No extradition without representation“.

At a time when so many parliamentarians are complaining of the loss of UK sovereignty to the EU, it would appear that we’ve just handed the liberty of our citizens to the whims of an extreme US legislature.
Where was our referendum on this surrender of these powers ?

It is totally unreasonable to expect UK citizens to have a detailed knowledge of the laws of all countries with whom we have an extradition agreement – particularly when those laws extend beyond their own territories.

And it’s a completely draconian, disproportionate measure to remove the liberty of a British citizen to the jeopardy of a trial under a foreign legal system (with all the costs and disruption that causes in itself), because he has upset the entertainment industry and its (very effective) lobbyists.

You may be aware of reports of the US threatening other EU nations with trade sanctions if they didn’t pass laws reflecting its own interpretation of copyright – irrespective of the wishes of the electorate (http://boingboing.net/2012/01/06/leaked-memo-usa-blackmailed-s.html).
The general disquiet over the proposed SOPA legislation shows that this is a very active area of concern.

I’m aware that Parliament has recently debated the extradition arrangements with the US, and the consensus seemed to be that a “forum bar” needed to be introduced (I’m not a legal expert, so I don’t know if this is indeed the case).
I feel that Parliament now needs to resolve this as a matter of urgency.