European Parliament confirms Snowden's whistleblower status

October 30, 2015 | 11:31

Tags: #breach #edward-snowden #leak #security #whistleblower

Companies: #european-parliament #gchq #nsa

The European Parliament has voted to officially recognise former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden as a whistleblower and human rights defender, calling upon member nations to offer him protection and agree not to respond to requests from the US for extradition.

Snowden hit headlines in 2013 when he left the US for Hong Kong to meet with journalists regarding a cache of hundreds of thousands of confidential documents he had gathered from the NSA pointing to, he claimed, illegal activities including warrantless wiretapping and domestic spying operations, both by the NSA itself and by partner organisations including the UK's Government Communications Headquarters. The publication of findings from these documents led to the US seeking his arrest on charges of treason, and Snowden has been avoiding the long arm of US security agencies ever since.

Details leaked by Snowden include cryptography back-doors used by the NSA and GCHQ and a theft of encryption keys used to protect SIM card data. Security services have branded him a threat, but in a tight vote of 285 for to 281 against the European Parliament branded him 'whistleblower and international human rights activist.'

The vote also called for member nations to drop any outstanding criminal charges against Snowden, grant him protection, and agree to refuse any requests from the US or others for his extradition - despite any extradition agreements that may exist. During the same hearing, the European Parliament expressed concern regarding 'recent laws in some member states that extend surveillance capabilities of intelligence bodies' including the UK, France, and the Netherlands, and called for the European Commission to 'immediately take the necessary measures to ensure that all personal data transferred to the US are subject to an effective level of protection that is essentially equivalent to that guaranteed in the EU' following an ECJ ruling that the Safe Harbour data protection scheme offered inadequate protections.

The resolution voted upon by Parliament is, however, non-binding - meaning there is nothing to stop member nations, including the UK, ignoring it outright or giving it lip-service only to arrest Snowden and offer him up for US extradition as soon as he sets foot outside his current safe haven of Russia.
Discuss this in the forums

Posted by David - Fri Oct 30 2015 11:46

The resolution voted upon by Parliament is, however, non-binding - meaning there is nothing to stop member nations, including the UK, ignoring it outright or giving it lip-service only to arrest Snowden and offer him up for US extradition as soon as he sets foot outside his current safe haven of Russia.
That makes the resolution meaningless. No way will Snowden take a risk in travelling to a country that could, on a whim, decide to detain and extradite him to the states, despite signing up to the agreement. There are a good few out there who would happily do it to curry a little favour with the Americans - the UK being at the very top of that list, sadly.

Posted by theshadow2001 - Fri Oct 30 2015 12:16

Well thats a fantastic waste of tax money. We've just about agreed on a sentiment that has no tangible implications for anyone. Goodjob! :thumb: :rolleyes:

Posted by Corky42 - Fri Oct 30 2015 12:22

I don't think the UK would do it to curry favor with America, they'd do it because they (the government) and the main stream media truthfully believe hes in the wrong, that "bulk data collection" is a price worth paying, unless of course that "bulk data collection" happens to included their data.

Politicians and journalists only seem bothered when they discover that mass surveillance includes them, if they've done nothing wrong what are they worried about. ;)

Posted by Instagib - Fri Oct 30 2015 20:02

I used to think this guy was a real man of integrity and principle. It took an amazing about of personal risk and determination to willingly whistle blow and sever all hope of ever returning home, just for the sake of making people aware of the civil liberties that had been stolen from them.

However, as time goes on, my opinion is changing. Every time the media threaten to lose interest in the guy, he makes a startling revelation all of a sudden which is rapidly sensationalised by anyone willing to listen. He's an attention whore. A very principled one, no denying that, but one nonetheless.

I don't think he'll ever leave Russia. I don't think the Russians will let him.
null
YouTube logo
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review

October 14 2021 | 15:04

In line with recent changes to data protection legislation in the UK and Europe we would like to direct you to our updated Privacy Policy here.