An alleged computer hacker facing a 99-year US jail sentence is fighting his extradition from a £15 million squat in one of London’s most expensive streets, the Standard reveals today.
Lauri Love, 32, who has Asperger syndrome, is accused of stealing data from US agencies including the FBI and Nasa. He is among a protest group which has moved into an empty townhouse owned by a Russian oligarch.
The group plans to open up the sprawling Georgian house in Eaton Square, Belgravia to the homeless.
Mr Love, a vicar’s son and activist, told the Standard he is preparing an appeal against his extradition order, signed by Home Secretary Amber Rudd in November.
Lawyers believe he faces up to 99 years in jail if convicted in America. His case echoes that of Gary McKinnon, whose extradition was eventually blocked in 2012 by Theresa May, then Home Secretary.
Mr Love’s family have expressed fears he will not be able to cope in the notoriously harsh US prison system.
His solicitor Karen Todner said the family were now appealing to the High Court to overturn the Home Secretary’s decision approving his extradition.
She said today: “We are exploring every avenue to defend this case. Given his issues he could not possibly be treated with any humanity in the United States. It would be wholly wrong for him to be extradited.”
But there were questions today over whether Mr Love was in breach of his bail conditions which state that he should live with his parents Alexander and Sirkka-Liisa in Suffolk or at an address in Prestbury, Cheshire.
When the Standard visited the Eaton Square house last night, Mr Love and other members of the group were still exploring the dozens of empty rooms as music played on speakers powered from the mains. The house, formerly used to house a language school, has apparently been empty since it was bought by Russian oligarch Andrey Goncharenko in 2014. It is not known whether he has visited the property since the purchase.
The latest incumbents are a mix of squatters, self-described anarchists and former rough sleepers who plan to “use the space constructively”, Mr Love said. He added: “The police know we’re here. It’s not their problem really.”
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“This property is worth £100 million or something ridiculous and it’s not in use,” he said. “It was bought by a foreign oligarch as an investment, and meanwhile there are good people sleeping on the streets. There are a lot of people with nowhere to stay, and a lot of buildings that are empty.
“The Government has criminalised residential squatting so the only way we can exercise squatter’s rights is in commercial buildings like this.” Mr Love’s case has the support of more than 100 MPs who wrote to Barack Obama last year arguing that he should be tried in the UK.
Last year Eaton Square was named the most expensive place to buy property in Britain, with homes costing on average £17 million.
