Snowden spoke to reporters by video at a NY news conference on Wednesday. “I did not pick a particular destination, I was trying to go to Lebanon”.
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Snowden concluded by emphasizing that he gave the documents he leaked to journalists, who made the editorial decision of what to publish, and reiterated that the decision of whether or not he is pardoned is not his to make. “[Chinese] officials can prove that”, Snowden pointed out.
It’s time for Snowden, who is now in exile in Russian Federation, to receive some sort of pardon or be allowed to negotiate freedom in Europe without the fear of extradition by the U.S., Snowden attorney and Director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy & Technology Project Ben Wizner said during a Q&A with Stone at the Brooklyn Public Library after a pre-screening of the film and a preview of the campaign. He was subsequently charged with theft of government property and two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917.
A team of supporters, including the ACLU, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are lobbying Obama to pardon Snowden before he leaves office in January.
‘We believe this is precisely the time for the USA president to act, ‘ American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero said.
‘I look forward to coming home, but I can not support the persecution of those charged under an Espionage Act when they have committed no espionage, ‘ Snowden told about 50 members of the press who attended the news conference, reported the Washington Times.
I look forward to coming home, but I can not support the persecution of those charged under an Espionage Act when they have committed no espionage. Snowden himself appeared via video link from Russian Federation, where he lives, at the press conference. “Urge President Obama to pardon Edward Snowden, and let him come home with dignity”.
For more information on signing Snowden’s pardon visit here.
Ahead of this week’s release of an Oliver Stone movie about Edward Snowden, the American Civil Liberties Union has called on President Barack Obama to pardon the NSA whistleblower.
Snowden himself talked about the possibility of a pardon during an interview with The Guardian on Tuesday.
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Anthony Romero, the national director of the ACLU, said that a presidential pardon of Snowden would be good for the United States; he acknowledged that Snowden did break the law but that there were “mitigating circumstances” that tilt the scales of justice away from punishment.
