The "devastated¹" lawyers for computer hacker² Gary McKinnon are to challenge the home secretary's decision not to block his extradition³ to the US.

电脑黑客加里·麦金农的律师将要挑战内政大臣不阻止将其引渡到美国的决定。

Supporters make the point that Gary McKinnon has Asperger's syndrome⁴

They said they would fight on after Alan Johnson told Mr McKinnon's family medical grounds could not prevent it.

Glasgow-born Mr McKinnon, 43, who has Asperger's syndrome（综合症）, is accused of breaking into US military computers. He says he was seeking UFO evidence.

Now of Wood Green, north London, he faces 60 years in prison if convicted.

'American poodle'

His lawyer, Karen Todner, said: "It's a devastating⁵ blow but we are not going to give up. We are certainly coming to the end of the road.

"We're just hoping at some point someone sees sense and steps in. All the legal team do know is we cannot give up because in some ways it's like dealing⁶ with a death row case, and we genuinely believe that Gary's life is at stake（危在旦夕） here."

She said she would issue judicial⁷ review proceedings⁸ next week - a process she said she was given just seven days to complete, rather than the more normal three months.

If that failed, they would take the case to the European Court of Human Rights, she added.

Mr Johnson said he had carefully considered the representations but concluded that sending Mr McKinnon to the US would not breach⁹ his human rights.

"Due to legitimate¹⁰ concerns over Mr McKinnon's health, we have sought and received assurances from the United States authorities that his needs will be met," he said.

But Ms Todner said he had gone against independent legal advice which said he could have used his discretion（判定，考虑）.

Mr McKinnon admits hacking¹¹ into 97 US government computers, including Nasa's and the Pentagon's, during 2001 and 2002.

He has told the BBC he was on a "moral crusade（改革运动）" to prove US intelligence had found an alien craft run on clean fuel.

His mother, Janis Sharp, told the BBC she was "devastated" by the news and that her son, who has a form of autism（孤独症，自闭症）, had reacted "very badly".

"It's a disgusting decision. Gary has been in a heightened state of terror for almost eight years.

"To force a peaceful, vulnerable（易受伤害的，有弱点的）, misguided UFO fanatic¹²（狂热） like Gary thousands of miles away from his much-needed support network is barbaric（野蛮人的，粗鲁）," she said.

She said she was not comforted by the home secretary's advice that her son would not be held in a "supermax" jail, which hold the highest-security prisoners.