© AFP 2018 / Frederick Florin
Sputnik: Ordinary Guy: Edward Snowden's Life in Russia After Leaking Classified Data
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Five years ago former US National Security Agency (NSA) officer, whistleblower Edward Snowden, who leaked online classified information revealing global surveillance programs run by US intelligence services in early June 2013, was granted temporary asylum in Russia.
Snowden's revelations could cost him as much as 30 years in prison in the United States, where he is wanted on charges of espionage and theft of government property.
After the documents' release, Snowden fled to Hong Kong, and on June 23, 2013, arrived from Hong Kong to Moscow. He remained in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo Airport, which he was unable to leave, as his US passport had been revoked.
On June 30, 2013, WikiLeaks editor Sarah Harrison, presented to the consular department at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport requests for political asylum addressed to 21 countries, including Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.
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WNU Editor: Life is not so good for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange .... Assange in 'solitary confinement' at embassy, fears possible extradition to US, lawyer says (ABC News).
Prima facie evidences leads me to conclude Snowden is a traitor to the USA from the instant he fled. Nobody flees to Hong Kong with a treasure trove of US govt secrets without dealing with Chinese intelligence agents on their terms. Nobody flees to Russia and stays there for over 5 years without spilling all they know to the Russians.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Fleeing makes you look guilty. If you believe in what you did is right, stay. Especially as his identity was known. To flee to Russia was to say "the Russians will treat be better than my own countrymen". This is adding insult to injury. What an ass. The damage he's done to national security outweighs the benefits to society imo. But even if I'm wrong and what he did ended up being good for his fellow citizens, he should stand trial and be judged by the very people he was so concerned for and abandoned for a life in Russia.
DeleteGo figure.