14 DAY TRIAL // In a message sent by Edward Snowden to human rights activists and lawyers, in which he calls upon a meeting, he say the scale of threatening behavior from the United States has never been seen before in history.
Snowden claims that never before in history have states conspired to force to the ground a sovereign president’s plane to effect a search for a political refugee, Sky News reports.
“This dangerous escalation represents a threat not just to the dignity of Latin America or my own personal security, but to the basic right shared by every living person to live free from persecution,” Snowden said in the message sent out last night.
Of course, he refers to the incident in which France, Spain, Portugal and Italy have forced the Bolivian presidential aircraft to the ground as they did not grant it access through their airspace on suspicion that Snowden was on board.
This has caused an international uproar and diplomacy problems, while South American countries created a unified front against this “act of aggression” during an impromptu summit.
He also takes the chance to express his gratitude to the nations who have extended their support and asylum to him, calling them “brave.”
So far, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia have extended their support, while Ecuador has stated that if he gets to the country, the government will process his request, indicating to a possible positive answer.
While the American president has previously said his country would not interfere with Snowden’s asylum requests or his flight to any of the countries who offer him help, it is known they have requested European countries to block airspace. Obvious assumptions indicate the US authorities have been behind the false information that Snowden was on the Bolivian aircraft.
Furthermore, the US has been putting pressure on Latin American countries to deny Snowden asylum, while also sending out arrest warrants on his name and extradition requests.
The Human Rights organizations can only send a maximum of three people to attend a meeting that will be held under tight security.