[Peace-discuss] Snowden Intends to Ask for Political Asylum in Switzerland

[David Johnson]

 <http://www.telesurtv.net/english/section/news> News
<http://www.telesurtv.net/SubSecciones/en/news/world/> > World 

Snowden Intends to Ask for Political Asylum in Switzerland

*	Description: Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward
Snowden appears live via video during a conference at the Upper Canada
College private high school in Toronto, February 2, 2015.

Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden appears live
via video during a conference at the Upper Canada College private high
school in Toronto, February 2, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

 

The CIA patriot and whistleblower John Kiriakou said recently on an episode
of Democracy Now that he advised Snowden NOT to return to the U.S. because
there was no way in hell that Snowden would get anything resembling a fair
trial, especially in the federal district court of Arlington Virginia.
Personally I would prefer Ecuador or Cuba to Switzerland.

 

Published 6 March 2015 

0

Description: Coments

The NSA whistleblower, who has been living in Russia, recently revealed that
he was willing to return to the U.S. if he could be given a fair trial.

National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed
Thursday that he intends to ask Switzerland for political asylum. 

Snowden suggested that Switzerland would perhaps be a more agreeable place
for him to reside since it has historically been viewed as a neutral state.
The ex-NSA analyst is currently living in Russia, where he was granted
temporary asylum, a fact that has irked politicians in the United States due
to geopolitical tensions between the two countries. 

A lawyer for the famous whistleblower recently stated that Snowden was
<http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Snowden-Ready-to-Go-Back-to-the-US-If
-Promised-a-Fair-Trial-----20150303-0006.html> prepared to return to the
U.S. provided he could be guaranteed a fair trial. However, Snowden himself
later said a fair
<http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Snowden-Says-No-Fair-Trial-Available-
in-US-20150304-0025.html> trial was not a
<http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Snowden-Says-No-Fair-Trial-Available-
in-US-20150304-0025.html> possibility. 

The Swiss public prosecutor's office said in 2014 that Snowden could be
granted safe passage in Switzerland if he helped a potential criminal
inquiry into U.S. spying there. The prosecutor's office provided Reuters
with a document of Switzerland's legal options if Snowden were to visit. 

The document said he would likely not be extradited to the U.S. but would
not likely be granted political asylum because he has already been granted
temporary residency in Russia. 

At the time, Michael McCaul, Republican head of the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, said Snowden should not be
allowed to "trade our intelligence community's sources and methods for safe
haven in other countries." 

According to the Swiss public prosecutor's office, the decision on whether
to grant Snowden asylum in Switzerland ultimately lies with the government
and with justice officials. 

New Zealand Revealed to Have Spied on Neighbors 

Meanwhile, documents leaked by Snowden continue to create problems for
politicians. On Thursday fresh leaks revealed that New Zealand has been
spying electronically on its Pacific Island neighbors as well as Indonesia
and sharing the intelligence with its international allies. 

Documents released say that New Zealand's electronic spy agency had
intercepted emails, mobile and fixed line phone calls, social media messages
and other communications in small Pacific states including Fiji, Samoa,
Solomon Islands, and French Polynesia. 

Furthermore, the material gathered by New Zealand was shared with
intelligence agencies in the U.S., Australia, Britain, and Canada, which
make up the "Five Eyes" surveillance network. 

 

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