Snowden Concerned About His Status in a "Corrupt" Russia

[Fellow Aspirant]

He foresees the possibility that Trump could ask Putin for his deportation.

From "The Guardian":

https://theguardian.com/us-news/2018...ent-as-corrupt
29 June, 2018

National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has delivered his most trenchant criticism yet of the Russian government, describing it unequivocally as “corrupt”.

His comments mean the proposed US-Russia summit in Helsinki on 16 July is potentially risky for him if Donald Trump was to request Vladimir Putin to hand him over.

Snowden is wanted in the US on three charges under the Espionage Act, carrying a minimum of 30 years in jail. Putin could balance the propaganda value of having Snowden in Russia against providing Trump with an easy gift.

In an interview with the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung Snowden, who has lived in Russia since 2013, said: “The Russian government is corrupt in many ways, that’s something the Russian people realise. Russian people are warm. They are clever. It’s a beautiful country. Their government is the problem not the people.”

Snowden faced criticism in the first couple of years after he arrived in Russia of not criticising the Putin government but he has gradually become more outspoken, including in his defence of journalists.

Russia is the only safe haven in the world for Snowden. China would not allow him access to the mainland when he was in Hong Kong in 2013. Neither Germany, where there is strong public support for Snowden, nor any other European country appears willing to fall out with the US by offering him sanctuary. If he made it to Latin America or anywhere else in the world, the US could apply economic pressure or send in a CIA team to kidnap him.

He said: “I’ve already accepted that I am going to spend my life dealing with enormous consequences for my decision to tell the public what I know. But if not for me, by all means, Germany should pass the necessary laws to allow future whistleblowers to find a safe harbour.”

Snowden said if a Russian whistleblower was to turn up on chancellor Angela Merkel’s doorstep, she would protect them. “But if an American whistleblower shows up on Merkel’s doorstep? That question has not been answered,” Snowden said.

He expressed disappointment with Merkel’s public position on whistleblowers. “We’ve talked so much about Russia today and the disappointments and the challenges that the public is facing because of the problems of their government. What would it say to the world if the only place an American whistleblower can be safe is in Russia?”

Asked about WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, with whom he is often compared, Snowden said: “I’m a reformist, he’s a revolutionary. I don’t want to burn the system down, if I believe it can still be saved.”

Although Assange helped organise Snowden’s escape from Hong Kong, the two hold many different views, including how much classified information should be published, with Snowden favouring a more selective approach.

B.

[NeedleThreader]

Poor Snowden. I never realized that Russia was the only country that can and will grant amnesty to him.

I really like when he said: “I’m a reformist, he’s a revolutionary (Assange). I don’t want to burn the system down, if I believe it can still be saved.”

[Zak247]

Snowden, a very brave young man, is really up the creek and definitely is dependent on Putin.

It’s amazing he has the guts to criticize the Russian government as quoted above since they are holding his freedom in their hands. It might not be wise that he does that.

The fact that he does criticize Putin is kind of suspicious. It may be that Russia has made a deal with him

[amor]

I think that President Trump should pardon both Snowden and Assange and invite them to work with the USA if they wish. We need honest, tell it like it is people to save this country.

[section9]

Sadly, I suspect that now that Snowden’s usefulness to the FSB is over with, he’ll end up in the Moscow River.

[Zak247]

Posted by amor (here)
I think that President Trump should pardon both Snowden and Assange and invite them to work with the USA if they wish. We need honest, tell it like it is people to save this country.

Are you kidding? The IC would raise holy hell. They just put that girl Reality Winner in jail for 5 years for leaking one page. They want to hang Snowden and Assange.

https://theintercept.com/2018/06/26/...ing-plea-deal/

REALITY LEIGH WINNER pleaded guilty to retaining and transmitting a document to an online news organization after reaching a deal with the government to serve a five-year prison sentence, compared to the 10 years she faced when she was indicted under the Espionage Act.

But Dave Petraeus did the same thing and he got 2 years probation.

They take care of their own but will destroy you if you’re out of their loop

[Inversion]

Putin has granted Edward Snowden Russian citizenship. In 2020 he was granted permanent residency rights. US courts ruled the program he exposed was unlawful.

reuters

Sep 26, 2022

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3Wluqol36AY

President Vladimir Putin granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency.

[Kryztian]

Some thoughts by Glenn Greenwald (who helped break the Snowden story) about what Russia's offer of citizenship means, and the hypocrisy of how the Washington Times is spinning this story.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=l0Lpe25G-wc