14 DAY TRIAL // It’s a mixed week for whistleblowers, what with the verdict given on the Bradley Manning case and the temporary asylum offered to Edward Snowden by the Russian authorities.
WikiLeaks, to whom Manning gave thousands of documents, expressed its disappointment in the decision taken by the court, but expressed its happiness with the one taken by Russia in regards to Snowden, a man whom they’ve been helping ever since he started seeking asylum.
“This is a war against secrecy that we’ve seen escalating over the recent years, it’s a war for transparency, it’s a war for government accountability. And indeed we won of course with more information getting out to general public,” WikiLeaks’ spokesperson Kristinn Krafnsson told RT.
However, they admit that this is only a part-victory since the asylum is only temporary, but Snowden can now move freely in Russia.
Now that the NSA whistleblower is free to leave the country whenever he wants, the tough part is actually getting to Latin America without the United States trying to stop him. Most planes on a direct route to any of the countries that have offered Snowden asylum fly through US airspace.
Since the US has threatened to close down NATO airspace to block Snowden, he is left with the only option of flying over the Pacific rather than the Atlantic, which could only be done with a private plane.
Snowden, however, seems to have no immediate plans to leave Russia, as his lawyer said, so there’s no urgency to the matter at this moment. The 12-month asylum could be prolonged indefinitely and Snowden could choose to live there permanently.
Although not many companies seemed open to have Snowden working for them after he revealed classified NSA documents, Russian social network Vkontakte has stepped up. The NSA whistleblower was offered a job on the network’s “all-star security team.”