Alleged Silk Road Forum Operator 'Roped Into' U.S. Extradition

Irishman Gary Davis, 28, has been ordered to be extradited to the United States for his alleged participation with the Silk Road Marketplace. The Kilpedder in Co Wicklow resident was charged with two others of conspiracy to distribute illicit drugs, computer espionage, and money laundering charges.

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Irishman With Aspergers May Face Trial In New York For Alleged Participation With Silk Road Affairs

According to the FBI Davis is responsible for being a Silk Road operator called ‘Libertas’ and had a personal relationship with Ross Ulbricht says a lead investigator in the case. Libertas was responsible for dealing with vendors, and organizing the narcotics sold on the site into different class types.

The indictment against Davis was filed by FBI agents back in 2013, and the Irishman had allegedly used Silk Road communications which were monitored by U.S. officials. Additionally, secret agents were regularly stationed outside Davis’s Kilpedder home and watched his everyday movements from there as well. Davis plans on appealing the High Court ruling and does not accept the FBI’s accounts of the story. Davis explains to the press:

“The prospect of being torn from my support network here in Ireland, which is essential for my mental well being, flown halfway across the world, and being dumped into an American Gulag to rot while facing outrageous charges is gut-wrenching in the extreme.—The conditions in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York, where I would be held post-extradition and pre-trial, are deplorable,”

Investigators from the U.S. say there is substantial evidence tying Mr. Davis to the Libertas role and the Silk Road operations. One instance is Libertas told the site administrator DPR that he had a sick pet and officials say on that same day through surveillance Davis was seen by authorities visiting a veterinarian.

During the High Court hearing in Dublin, it was noted by the courts that Davis has a mild case of Asperger’s, and it would be detrimental to his health facing extradition threats. Davis and his attorneys challenged the extradition on the grounds that the New York Metropolitan Correctional Centre has a horrible reputation of being a Guantanamo Bay type of prison. He believes he will not receive sufficient care for his Aspergers at the facility.

Davis when first appearing at the first High Court extradition trial, his doctor, reports detailed to the court officials his Aspergers syndrome and his family’s history of conflict with Autism. However, the High Courts Mr. Justice Paul McDermott said they had seen no evidence that Davis was being treated for the illness. Justice McDermott believes there was a “significant conflict of evidence” between therapists and their corresponding affidavits. The court official said he did believe that Davis suffered from the illness, but it was an “unfortunate fact of life” that people with mental anguish and disorders were imprisoned.

Davis did not give any information on how he would plead when facing trial in New York. He said at the time in 2013 he was only interested in trading Bitcoin as a hobby, and he has no idea how his passport was found on Ross Ulbricht’s computer. After two and half years of exhausting trials, Davis is horrified that he may spend time in the New York prison system. Davis explained how he is devastated by the decision to the Times:

“The conditions in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York, where I would be held post-extradition and pre-trial, are deplorable. Extended solitary confinement — an EU and UN recognized form of psychological torture — is routinely utilized as a tool, both administrative and disciplinary, to intimidate and punish prisoners held within its walls for the smallest infractions.— Indeed the MCC has been described by many notable publications as the “Guantanamo Bay of New York”, and it has faced harsh criticism from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Juan Méndez, who has repeatedly been denied access when investigating claims of human rights breaches within it.”

The Failed Drug War Continues To Ruin Lives

It is a sad state of affairs that a man with a mental condition must be shipped to U.S. soil for victimless crimes and allegedly helping run a website. This follows the Ulbricht family’s recent appeal of the case due to the corrupt special agents who stole millions of Bitcoin and tampered with crucial evidence during the investigation. Many friends and family members of Davis are not satisfied with the FBIs statements and also believe that the New York prison is a deplorable facility.

Supporters believe the drug war is a tyrannical mess within society’s confines. It is said by many that sending people to prison for operating a website that gives consenting adults a choice to do what they please is a despicable form of justice and has yet to prove any positive results. Throwing people in a cage for victimless crimes such as narcotics use and distribution has been fought by many civil rights groups across the globe. However, the ruling class is not convinced by the majority’s opinions and continue to lock people up for participating in consensual activities.

What do you think about Mr. Davis being extradited to the U.S. for his alleged participation with the Silk Road Marketplace maintenance? Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear your opinions.

Images courtesy of the Irish Times, and Pixabay