In his first statement since he left Hong Kong and landed in Moscow on June 23, the 30-year-old fugitive American whistleblower Edward Snowden Snowden accused President Barack Obama of ordering his Vice President to “pressure the leaders of nations from which I have requested protection to deny my asylum petitions”.
Accusing the Obama Administration of using citizenship as a weapon and rendering him a stateless person by revoking his passport, Snowden said: “This kind of deception from a world leader is not justice, and neither is the extralegal penalty of exile. These are the old, bad tools of political aggression. Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me….I am unbowed in my convictions and impressed at the efforts taken by so many.”
As of Tuesday, Venezuela appeared to be one of the very few alternatives for Snowden, receiving as he did some vocal support from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, currently visiting Moscow. Speaking to reporters, Maduro said the whistleblower “deserves the world’s protection”, remarking that he “did not kill anyone” and “did not plant a bomb”. He, however, is reported to have dodged questions on whether he would take Snowden with him when he leaves.
The US State Department said on Monday that Snowden would be given a fair trial if he were to return home. Although his passport has been revoked, he would be issued one-entry travel documents to facilitate his return, spokesman Patrick Ventrell said.
“He (Snowden) enjoys the rights and responsibilities of any US citizen, including the right to a free and fair trial under our Constitution,” he said, adding: “He has a country to return to, which is the United States of America.”
Amid the backlash from European Union over the bugging of their missions by American intelligence agencies, the spokesman took the stand that the US gathered foreign intelligence of the type that was gathered by other nations.
President Obama himself, speaking in Tanzania on Monday, spoke in a similar vein, suggesting that all countries spied on each other by collecting intelligence.
“I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders,” Obama remarked at a news conference, adding: “That is how intelligence services operate.”
On a more serious tone, he said he has asked him team and the National Security Agency to evaluate everything that was being claimed about the snooping on EU and a host of other foreign missions.
“When we have an answer, we will make sure to provide all the information that our allies want and what exactly the allegations have been,” Obama added.