With less than 5 months left in Barack Obama’s presidency, activists have launched an all-out campaign to lobby Barack Obama to pardon government whistleblower Edward Snowden.
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Mr. Snowden’s came as supporters, including his US lawyer, stepped up a campaign for a presidential pardon.
“It is the view of the administration and certainly the view of the president that he should return to the US and face those charges, even as he enjoys the protection of due process and other rights that are afforded to American citizens who are charged with serious crimes”, Mr.
It has always been assumed by hackers for many years that governments have been performing massive surveillance, however, it was never confirmed until Snowden revealed sensitive documents that provided the truth of its existence and started major debates over government surveillance, encryption, national security and privacy. He is now in exile in Russian Federation and could face at least 30 years in jail for violating the Espionage Act if he was to return to America.
“I don’t think [Snowden] should be brought home without facing the music”, Clinton said in a Democratic debate previous year, affirming her support of Snowden facing jail time. As Anthony Zurcher of the BBC notes, the chances of Obama pardoning Snowden are next to zilch.
The ACLU and its partners hope to raise public awareness for Snowden’s cause and improve the whistleblower’s image in the United States, where still a considerable amount of people consider him a traitor.
The launch of the campaign is expected to see Snowden speak live from his home in Russian Federation, where he now lives in exile.
According to the whistleblower, it is clear that in the wake of the 2013 data leaks, the laws of the U.S. “changed”.
The movie is directed by Oliver Stone, stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden, and premiered last week at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada.
Snowden told The Guardian that he believed that one day he will be allowed to return to the United States. Former Attorney General Eric Holder said in May that Snowden performed a “public service”.
Mr. Stone has said he hopes his biopic, which takes a favorable view of Snowden’s leaks, will help shift public opinion, according to The Guardian.
Amnesty International, a vocal supporter of Snowden, said that his actions were above reproach, given that they exposed “indiscriminate mass surveillance of communications”, citing this as a direct breach of human rights for American, and indeed global, citizens.
“I had heard the name, you know”, he said.
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We’re going to make a very strong case between now and the end of this administration that this is one of those rare cases for which the pardon power exists.
