US will not seek death penalty for Edward Snowden

The U.S. will not seek the death penalty for Edward Snowden, the former intelligence contractor responsible for leaking documents revealing classified government surveillance programs, according to a recent letter from attorney general Eric Holder.

The charges Snowden faces in the U.S. do not carry the death penalty, and the U.S. will not seek the death penalty even if Snowden were charged with additional death penalty-eligible crimes, Holder said in the letter, which was sent to Russian minister of justice Vladimirovich Konovalov and obtained by CBS News.

The letter was dated July 23. The U.S. attorney general's office declined to comment immediately.

Snowden is currently thought to be residing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. Last week he requested temporary asylum in Russia in an effort to avoid prosecution by the U.S. government, which has indicted Snowden on charges related to the leaks.

Should he return to the U.S., Snowden will not be tortured either, Holder said. He would be promptly brought before a civilian court convened under Article III of the U.S. Constitution and supervised by a U.S. district judge, according to the letter.

"Mr. Snowden would receive all the protections that U.S. law provides to persons charge with federal criminal offenses in Article III courts," Holder said.

Snowden would be appointed counsel and would have the right to a public jury trial, according to the letter, and he would have the right to testify if he wished to do so.

"We believe that these assurances eliminate these asserted grounds for Mr. Snowden's claim that he should be treated as a refugee or granted asylum, temporary or otherwise," Holder said.Snowden has expressed an interest in relocating to Latin America, where Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have offered him safe harbor, but those efforts are complicated because the U.S. revoked Snowden's passport.

But Snowden is eligible for a limited validity passport for direct return to the U.S., Holder said, adding that the U.S. is willing to immediately issue such a passport.

Earlier this week Snowden was granted a document allowing him to leave the Moscow airport.

Venezuela offers asylum to NSA source Edward Snowden

Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro has offered to give asylum to Edward Snowden, the former contractor of the National Security Agency who leaked documents about the agency's surveillance programs.

Maduro said in a televised speech on Friday that his country would give "humanitarian asylum."

Neighboring Nicaragua has also said it is considering offering Snowden asylum if circumstances permit, according to reports.

But there are questions as to how he will get to Venezuela. Earlier this week, a plane carrying Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, was denied permission to enter airspace over some European countries as it was returning to Bolivia from Moscow. The countries had apparently been informed that Snowden was on board and their refusal to handle the aircraft sparked protests in Bolivia and the strong complaints from the Bolivian government.

Whistle-blower site WikiLeaks, which has handled Snowden's other asylum requests, said on Friday that asylum requests have been sent to six other countries, but their names were being withheld "due to attempted U.S. interference."

Earlier in the week it said that applications for asylum or asylum assistance were submitted on behalf of Snowden to about 20 countries including Venezuela and Nicaragua through an official at the Russian consulate at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. Snowden is thought to be in the transit facility of the airport, unable to enter Russia after the U.S. revoked his passport.

The American government has filed charges against Snowden in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.

A bill introduced Thursday by members of the Icelandic Parliament seeks to grant Icelandic citizenship to Snowden, but it won't be discussed until September after the house refused to take it up on the last day of the summer session of the Parliament.

"I have to announce that Snowden will not be getting any form of shelter in Iceland because the current government doesn't even have enough spine for the parliament to discuss Snowden´s request," wrote Birgitta Jónsdóttir, member of the Icelandic Parliament for the Pirate Party, in a blog post on Friday.

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Oliver Stone on NSA Leaker Edward Snowden: 'I Would Give Him Asylum'

KARLOVY VARY – It doesn’t give Edward Snowden options, but director Oliver Stone wants to grant the National Security Agency leaker asylum.

"If I were a country, I would give him asylum. I wish I could be a country," Stone told The Hollywood Reporter from the Karlovy Vary Film Festival where he is to receive a lifetime achievement award.

The filmmaker added that he can do no more to protect Snowden from prosecution by the United States than joining fellow Hollywood stars like John Cusack, Roseanne Barr and Danny Glover to sign a petition that urges President Rafael Correa to grant Snowden’s asylum request.

Having fled the U.S., Snowden remains holed up in the transit zone at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport as a raft of international asylum requests so far go unanswered.

Stone said he was especially disappointed by leaders in Europe, and in Brazil and India, after they rejected Snowden’s asylum bids outright.

"I'm disappointed by Europe’s reaction, considering they are among the targets for the eavesdropping,” he said.

STORY: Edward Snowden: Hollywood Joins Asylum Petition to Ecuador

The director recalled the 1950s and 1960s, when an earlier generation of leaders like Indian prime minister Jawahartal Nehru, Ghanian president Kwame Nkrumah and French president Charles De Gaulle were more “neutral” about U.S foreign policy., and did not hesitate to voice criticism.

"That kind of independence has been lost in Europe,” Stone complained.

He was especially critical of German chancellor Angela Merkel who, while reacting angrily to claims of U.S. spying in Europe, has followed U.S. foreign policy as her country increasingly controls a beleaguered European Union framework.

"I do feel it has not been good for Europe," Stone said of the EU.

“It has led to the creation of a German financial empire. Now it’s just one big government out of Germany,” he added.

Stone, no stranger to political critique, is also in Karlovy Vary to introduce screenings of two episodes of The Untold History of the United States.

The 10-hour documentary series on Showtime was co-written by Peter Kuznick.

Stone said The Untold History captures an unrevealed history of the U.S. during the 20th century.

"It's all about 70 years that we have forgotten. When you see it in one piece – 10 hours – you get it," he argued.

The Bohemian spa town festival will also screen a new director’s cut of Stone’s Alexander, which expands on the original 2004 version from Warner Bros. that was two hours and 45 minutes.

"It's thre hours, 20 minutes now. I'm very happy with this version. It has a different flow,” Stone said.

The Karlovy Vary Film Festival continues through July 6.

Where in the World Is Edward Snowden?

 Edward Snowden left Hong Kong on Sunday on a flight for Moscow. He has applied for asylum with the countries of Ecuador and Iceland. Image courtesy of the Guardian

 

 

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden managed to escape the clutches of U.S. authorities over the weekend by being spirited out of Hong Kong on a plane for Moscow with the help of WikiLeaks.

 

Snowden was supplied with a “refugee document of passage” by the Ecuadorian government before being whisked out of Hong Kong on Sunday, according to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, speaking to reporters by phone on Monday from his hold-up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The U.S. revoked Snowden’s passport while he was still in Hong Kong.

 

Snowden has been charged with espionage and theft of government property.

 

Assange wouldn’t say how Snowden escaped, saying it was a “fascinating story” that would “one day be told.” Snowden’s departure from Hong Kong was entirely legal, Assange noted, citing statements made over the weekend by Hong Kong authorities who said that Snowden was allowed to leave because the U.S. request for his detainment did not comply with Hong Kong law.

 

Snowden apparently had no contact with Russian authorities prior to his departure from Hong Kong, according to Assange. He reportedly arrived in Moscow around 5 p.m. local time on Sunday with the intention of flying on to Ecuador through Cuba.

 

But either his plans changed or false news was fed to reporters, because new reports today say that Snowden was not on the Cuba-bound flight that had been booked in his name.

 

Snowden was reportedly barred from leaving Moscow’s Sheremtyevo airport since he had no Russian visa and was forced to spend the night in a $15-an-hour capsule hotel at the airport. WikiLeaks paid for Snowden’s flight out of Hong Kong and is also covering his legal expenses and lodging, according to Assange, but his stay in Hong Kong was not financed by the organization. Assange also said that documents that Snowden obtained from the National Security Agency before leaving his job, and that have not been published yet, had been “secured by the relevant journalist organizations” prior to Snowden’s departure from Hong Kong to ensure they wouldn’t be seized by authorities if he’s captured.

 

Assange would not reveal Snowden’s current whereabouts or discuss his travel plans, but said he was safe and healthy and in high spirits.

 

According to Assange and Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and the U.S. attorney for WikiLeaks and Assange, Snowden has applied for asylum with Ecuador and Iceland. Ratner also suggested that applications had been made to other countries as well, but would not specify, presumably because U.S. authorities have been pressuring countries not to grant Snowden asylum.

 

Ratner and Assange condemned the Obama administration for attempting to interfere with Snowden’s asylum requests and making “bellicose” statements accusing him of being a traitor.

 

“The U.S. is bullying countries all over the world to get Edward Snowden rendered to the U.S. where he can be prosecuted,” Ratner told reporters.

 

Ratner said that whistleblowing was a protected activity recognized by the refugee convention under the United Nations. “The U.S. itself has recognized that,” Ratner noted, and has protected whistleblowers from China and Africa who tried to expose the criminality and corruption of those governments. He said that whistleblowing “trumps any efforts to extradite” Snowden.

 

“Every person has the right to seek and receive political asylum,” Assange said. “Those rights are enshrined in the United Nations’ agreements, of which the U.S. is a party. It is counterproductive and unacceptable for the Obama administration to try and interfere with those rights. It reflects poorly on the U.S. administration, and no self-respecting country would submit to such interference or such bullying by the U.S. in this matter.”

 

Asked why Snowden didn’t approach Congress to disclose the wrongdoing he wanted to expose, or remain in Hong Kong or come to the U.S. to fight the charges against him, Assange cited the treatment of previous whistleblower Thomas Drake who attempted to report wrongdoing through internal routes and through Congress and was charged under the Espionage Act. Jennifer Robinson, a legal adviser for WikiLeaks in London, also cited the treatment that Bradley Manning received in prison during his lengthy, years-long incarceration prior to his trial.

 

Hong Kong authorities said that Snowden left “on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel” and said that Snowden had been allowed to leave because a request from the U.S. government to detain him and issue a provisional warrant of arrest “did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.”

 

Snowden boarded an Aeroflot flight from Chep Lap Kok airport at 11.04 in the morning Hong Kong time, traveling on a one-way ticket with a companion believed to be human rights attorney Sarah Harrison.

 

Hong Kong authorities notified the U.S. after Snowden left.

 

“We will continue to discuss this matter with Hong Kong and pursue relevant law enforcement cooperation with other countries where Mr. Snowden may be attempting to travel,” a U.S. spokesman said.

 

 

Why Would Ecuador Want Edward Snowden?

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (left) and Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino appear on a window of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on June 16. Assange has been living at the embassy for the past year. Patino announced Sunday that Ecuador would consider giving asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino appear on a window of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on June 16. Assange has been living at the embassy for the past year. Patino announced Sunday that Ecuador would consider giving asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Ecuador says it is considering Edward Snowden's request for asylum.

This is the second high-profile case involving leaks of classified information, asylum and the South American country. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, to prevent being extradited to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sexual assault. It's worth mentioning here that WikiLeaks in a statement Sunday said it is giving Snowden legal help.

So why would the Andean nation consider giving refuge to Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor accused of leaking classified surveillance information?

"It becomes the center of attention. [Ecuador's] President Rafael Correa enjoys that," says Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington, D.C. "He likes needling the U.S. This satisfies that impulse. It also gives them a sense of consistency and commitment to principles by linking it to the Assange case."

Carl Meacham, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, adds: "Correa is interested in inheriting the mantle of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. To be able to do this with Julian Assange and Mr. Snowden puts him, in his view, as a protector of freedom of information."

But, Shifter notes, Correa probably hopes that by granting refuge to Assange and considering asylum for Snowden he can shift the focus away from Ecuador's own record of press freedom.

Human Rights Watch has criticized the country's new Communication Law, saying the measure "seriously undermines free speech."

"To some extent, Correa can try and use this [incident] to point to the hypocrisy and double standards of everyone else who's coming down hard on him," Shifter says.

As a small country, Ecuador could be vulnerable to U.S. pressure, though its oil gives it a buffer.

Ecuador is the smallest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and one of the top sources of crude oil imports to the U.S. West Coast. It's also a beneficiary of the massive Chinese investment in South America.

"There are going to be implications and consequences" to granting Snowden asylum, says Laura Powell, a research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington.

She adds: "Diplomacy is not going to get very far. The U.S. has to rely on trade sanctions" and similar measures to achieve its goals.

Shifter of IAD says that at most the U.S. won't renew the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act that covers Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru; Ecuador would like that deal to continue.

"But it's not going to be a fatal blow," he says.

CSIS's Meacham doesn't see it that way.

"It's pretty bad for them," he says. "Their trade benefits from the Andean Trade Preference and Drug Eradication Act are important. Forty-two percent of their goods are sold to the U.S. So on paper, it's not in their interest."

Ecuador and the U.S. do have an extradition treaty, but as Meacham of CSIS notes: "Snowden is charged with espionage/treason, neither of which is covered by the extradition treaty."

U.S. charges Edward Snowden with espionage, report says

Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who leaked information about U.S. government mass surveillance programs, has been charged by the U.S. with espionage, the Washington Post reported Friday.

Federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Snowden (above) and are seeking to have him arrested in Hong Kong, according to the Post, which cited unnamed U.S. officials. He is charged with espionage, theft, and conversion of government property, the report says.

By bringing the charges, the U.S. has begun a process by which it can try to have Snowden extradited to the U.S. to face trial. Snowden can fight the effort in the Hong Kong courts, however, in a process that could last several months, the Post said.

Snowden sparked a furor this month after he leaked details about two U.S. surveillance programs to the Washington Post and the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper. One program, called Prism, gives the National Security Agency access to customer data collected by large Internet firms, and the other provides access to U.S. phone call records.

Snowden has been both vilified as a traitor and hailed as a champion of the public’s right to privacy. He flew to Hong Kong last month after leaving his job as a contractor at an NSA facility in Hawaii and is thought to still be located in the Chinese territory.

U.S. officials, including President Barack Obama, have defended the programs, saying they have helped to disrupt numerous terrorist plots in the U.S. and overseas. And they say the programs are subject to rigorous oversight.

Snowden has since expanded his accusations, saying NSA analysts can access the contents of a U.S. target’s phone calls and emails without a court order.

The complaint against Snowden was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, a jurisdiction where Snowden’s former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, has its headquarters, the Post reported.