14 DAY TRIAL // The Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights said that it would be justified for Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, to receive political asylum in a country of his choice, including Russia.
“He must be granted protection regardless of national borders. And this does not apply only to Mr Snowden’s story – this applies to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and many other people, including journalists – Russian and foreign – who disclose secrets in order to warn the society against dangers,” said Mikhail Fedotov, head of the Human Rights Body, RT reports.
Furthermore, another member of the same commission has said that Snowden should not be handed over to the United States since this would violate his personal rights.
“It goes without saying that Snowden acted as a human rights advocate but right now the US authorities are very resolute in their intentions to punish him. My opinion is that we should take a very precise position – no handover,” Kirill Kabanov told Itar-Tass.
The statement comes in the midst of a battle of wills between the American authorities and Russian officials. While the White House has demanded that Russia detain Snowden and send him to the US, the Russians have replied that they have no legal basis to do such a thing.
Vladimir Putin has also said that Snowden is free to go wherever he wants as he has not broken any laws on Russian territory. He expressed his wish, however, for Snowden to make up his mind about his destination soon.
Edward Snowden has been in the Moscow airport since Sunday when he flew there from Hong Kong. He was supposed to board a plane to Cuba on Monday and then to fly out to Venezuela, but he never showed up for the flight.
Ecuador is currently considering his request for a political asylum, while Venezuela said that they’d be willing to host him too if he sent out a formal request.