Silk Road administrator Gary Davis, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, has lost his appeal and will be extradited to the U.S. to face charges related to the illicit marketplace.

The judge in the case determined that despite Davis' mental health issues, concluded that extraditing him to America to face trial would not be a violation of his rights under Irish law.

Davis is to face charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics, commit computer hacking and launder money. He allegedly was an administrator of the website and was paid $1,500 a week for his services.

Silk Road was a dark website that provided a range of illegal goods and services including hacking software and false identity documents. It was best known as a place that sold narcotics. The website earned tens of millions of bitcoins and was seized and shut down by the FBI in 2013. Its creator, Ross William Ulbricht – aka ‘Dread Pirate Roberts' – was arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, professor of development psychopathology at Trinity College, Cambridge, testified that Davis' condition is severe and “is not just at ordinary levels of sadness but are signs of serious mental ill health. As for how this might affect his ability to be extradited, it is clear that he feels extradition would be impossible and that extradition could precipitate a suicide attempt.”

Representatives of the US prison system argued that Davis would be removed from the general prison population and would have access to mental health facilities and the necessary medications to treat his conditions.

Source: SCMagazine