Snowden going to Iceland! (apparently not)

[Ba-ba-Ra]

REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Lawmakers introduced a proposal Thursday to grant immediate citizenship to Edward Snowden, who admits to leaking key details of U.S. surveillance activities.
Ogmundur Jonasson of the liberal Left-Green Party put the issue before the Judicial Affairs Committee, but the idea received minimal support.
Snowden, believed stuck in a Moscow airport transit area, has told the newspaper the Guardian that he was inclined to seek asylum in a country that shared his values -- and that "the nation that most encompasses this is Iceland."
Granting citizenship helped chess master Bobby Fischer go to Iceland from Japan in 2005 to escape U.S. prosecution for breaking sanctions against the former Yugoslavia.

http://projectavalon.net/forum4/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=105

Personal Note: I hope the Icelandic Govt supports this.

[Kryztian]

Sadly, it doesn't seem like that is going to happen:

The parliament in Iceland voted not to debate the issue.


Iceland parliament declines Snowden's citizenship bid (MSNBC) (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/05/19305354-iceland-parliament-declines-snowdens-citizenship-bid)


By Robert Robertsson, and Alistair Scrutton and Mia Shanley, Reuters

A bid by Edward Snowden for Icelandic citizenship failed when the country's parliament voted not to debate it before the summer recess, lawmakers said on Friday.

The vote leaves Snowden - believed to be staying in a transit area at a Moscow airport - with one option fewer as he seeks a country to shelter him from U.S. espionage charges.

Six members of parliament tabled a proposal late on Thursday to grant Snowden citizenship after they received a request from him via WikiLeaks, opposition parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir said.

But a majority of parliamentarians voted late on Thursday against allowing the proposal to be put on the agenda, a day before parliament went into summer recess. It does not reconvene until September.

"Snowden has formally requested citizenship. But nothing is now going to happen. We could not even vote on it," Jonsdottir told Reuters.

In a letter dated July 4, posted on Jonsdottir's blog, Snowden wrote that he had been left "de facto-stateless" by his government, which revoked his passport after he fled the country and leaked information about U.S. surveillance operations.

He has sought asylum in a number of countries, but most, including Iceland, say he must be on their soil for his application to be accepted.

His request for citizenship was a different tack, hoping that Iceland would give him a passport, as it has done in at least one similar case in the past.

"I appreciate that Iceland, a small but significant country in the world community, shows such courage and commitment to its higher laws and ideals," he wrote in the letter.

Under Icelandic law, parliament can grant citizenship to foreigners, which can otherwise usually only be gained through naturalization after a period of residence.

Chess master Bobby Fischer was granted Icelandic citizenship by parliament after he got into trouble with the United States over tax evasion and breaking sanctions by playing a match in Yugoslavia in 1992.

After years living abroad, he was detained in Japan, where he applied for and was awarded Icelandic citizenship in 2005. He spent his last years in Iceland before dying in 2008.

Iceland's recently elected center-right government is seen as far less willing to engage in an international dispute with the United States than the previous government, even if it will want to maintain the country's reputation for promoting Internet freedom.

"It is a disappointment that he is facing limited options," WikiLeaks Icelandic spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told Reuters. "I am not optimistic that the new conservative government will take steps of courage and boldness to assist Mr Snowden."

[johnf]

That link is to start a new thread.
This is the latest news on it I can find.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/05/us-usa-security-snowden-iceland-idUSBRE9640PS20130705

I am disappointed, that could have been interesting.

jf

[BrianEn]

Being stuck in an airport in that fashion has got to maddening. I hope he finds a place to go soon. I can't imagine what he's given up in all this.

[ulli]

Being stuck in an airport in that fashion has got to maddening. I hope he finds a place to go soon. I can't imagine what he's given up in all this.

It's also extremely uncomfortable. There are no decent beds.
Even one night of being stuck in an airport is torture.

[BrianEn]

Being stuck in an airport in that fashion has got to maddening. I hope he finds a place to go soon. I can't imagine what he's given up in all this.

It's also extremely uncomfortable. There are no decent beds.
Even one night of being stuck in an airport is torture.

I've done several hour lay overs but nothing like that.

[ThePythonicCow]

Sadly, it doesn't seem like that is going to happen:

The parliament in Iceland voted not to debate the issue.
I added the qualifier "(apparently not)" to this thread's title, as it was a bit misleading otherwise.

[Cidersomerset]

Iceland parliament declines Snowden's citizenship bid


http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20130705&t=2&i=747953649&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CDEE9641IYV00





(Reuters) - A bid by Edward Snowden for Icelandic citizenship failed when the
country's parliament voted not to debate it before the summer recess, lawmakers
said on Friday, with options for the U.S. fugitive narrowing by the day.

The vote leaves Snowden - believed to be staying in a transit area at a Moscow
airport - with one option fewer as he seeks a country to shelter him from U.S.
espionage charges.Following the news in Iceland, WikiLeaks announced that
Snowden had applied to another six countries for asylum, adding to a list of more
than a dozen countries which he has already asked for protection.

The anti-secrecy organisation, which has been supporting Snowden's efforts to find
a safe haven since his exit from Hong Kong 12 days ago, said on Twitter it could
not reveal the names the countries due to "attempted U.S. interference".
Six members of Iceland's parliament tabled a proposal late on Thursday to grant
Snowden citizenship after they received a request from him via WikiLeaks,
opposition parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir said.

But a majority of parliamentarians voted late on Thursday against allowing the
proposal to be put on the agenda, a day before parliament went into summer
recess. It does not reconvene until September.

"Snowden has formally requested citizenship. But nothing is now going to happen.
We could not even vote on it," Jonsdottir told Reuters.

In a letter dated July 4, posted on Jonsdottir's blog, Snowden wrote that he had
been left "de facto-stateless" by his government, which revoked his passport after
he fled the country and leaked information about U.S. surveillance operations.
Most of the countries he has already sought asylum in, including Iceland, say he
must be on their soil for his application to be accepted.

His request for citizenship was a different tack, hoping that Iceland would give him
a passport, as it has done in at least one similar case in the past.

"I appreciate that Iceland, a small but significant country in the world community,
shows such courage and commitment to its higher laws and ideals," he wrote in the
letter.Under Icelandic law, parliament can grant citizenship to foreigners, which can
otherwise usually only be gained through naturalisation after a period of residence.

Chess master Bobby Fischer was granted Icelandic citizenship by parliament after
he got into trouble with the United States over tax evasion and breaking sanctions
by playing a match in Yugoslavia in 1992.After years living abroad, he was detained
in Japan, where he applied for and was awarded Icelandic citizenship in 2005. He
spent his last years in Iceland before dying in 2008.

Iceland's recently elected centre-right government is seen as far less willing to
engage in an international dispute with the United States than the previous
government, even if it will want to maintain the country's reputation for promoting
Internet freedom.

"It is a disappointment that he is facing limited options," WikiLeaks Icelandic
spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told Reuters. "I am not optimistic that the new
conservative government will take steps of courage and boldness to assist Mr
Snowden."

Russia has shown signs of growing impatience over Snowden's stay in the country.

Its deputy foreign minister said on Thursday that Snowden had not sought asylum
in the country and needed to choose a place to go.Moscow has made clear that the
longer he stays, the greater the risk of the diplomatic standoff over his fate causing
lasting damage to relations with Washington.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Scrutton and Mia Shanley in Stockholm, Steve
Gutterman in Moscow, Editing by Michael Roddy)


http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/07/05/usa-security-snowden-iceland-idINDEE9640DD20130705

[Tesseract]

Venezuela has just offered asylum.

[Kryztian]

Venezuela has just offered asylum.

Well, that's a heck of a lot better than going to North Korea!

[ViralSpiral]

Edward Snowden offered asylum by Venezuelan president (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/06/edward-snowden-venezuela-asylum)


"Who is the terrorist? Who is the global delinquent?"

http://www.frostmournemc.com/components/com_uddeim/templates/default/images/emoticon_shocked.gif