Skip to main content

Edward Snowden’s lawyers are trying to find asylum for him in the EU

snowden eu asylum snowdenhack
Image used with permission by copyright holder
As the clock ticks on Edward Snowden’s asylum in Russia, the whistleblower’s lawyers are conferring with the European Union about countries that may be able to grant him asylum.

Snowden’s asylum in Russia will expire in 2020 and he has no guarantees or promises that his refuge from U.S. prosecution will be renewed. Add in the uncertainty with President Donald Trump and his relationship with Vladimir Putin and Snowden’s status is up in the air.

Recommended Videos

On Monday, a lawyer for the exiled Snowden attended a hearing at the European Parliament to make the case for an EU nation to grant him asylum. Wolfgang Kaleck, a German lawyer and one of Snowden’s legal representatives, argued that the prosecution he would face at home (potentially a 1,000-year sentence) is “against all European standards,” reports EurActiv.

“We think the European Union member states have the obligation to support him,” he said, adding that the EU should “pay back” Snowden for his good deeds, which also revealed the mass surveillance of Europeans. The Snowden leaks were one of the main reasons why the infamous data sharing agreement between the U.S. and EU, Safe Harbor, was ruled invalid.

Snowden has not formally applied for asylum in any EU country since he first went on the run in 2013. Since then, in 2015, the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution that suggested EU nations would not extradite Snowden if he ever came to their country.

The EU provides an interesting option for Snowden. If granted asylum in one EU country, he could in theory travel to any other EU country given the bloc’s freedom of movement policy. In practice, though, it could end up much more complicated.

Kaleck and other lawyers have examined possible countries that would grant the whistleblower asylum. Sweden has spoken with Russia about the matter. However, there have been disappointments too. Kaleck had hoped that the new Spanish government would be welcoming of Snowden talks but that has not advanced since.

Meanwhile, Germany may be another option. A court there is investigating a case that would allow Snowden to travel to Germany to testify at a surveillance hearing.

The American Civil Liberties Union’s Ben Wizner added that Iceland — though not an EU country — is providing a “lot of optimism” following the strong performance of the Pirate Party in recent elections. The party has said in the past that it would grant asylum.

President Trump is sure to be weighing on Snowden’s mind. Trump has publicly called him a “traitor” while supporters of Snowden were disappointed when former president Barack Obama did not pardon Snowden following the pardoning of Chelsea Manning.

Jonathan Keane
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jonathan is a freelance technology journalist living in Dublin, Ireland. He's previously written for publications and sites…
I have Meta Quest 3S and this is the best VR accessory yet — it’s on sale
Kiwi Design best VR accessory Meta Quest 3 headstrap

Ahead of the holidays and some prime family time, I've picked up the Meta Quest 3S. So far, my family is absolutely loving it, and my kids are constantly bugging me to play games, explore worlds, and get virtual. Naturally, I manage the time we're all spending -- you don't want too much screen time. But regardless, every one of us ends up becoming immersed, which means spending a lot of time with the headset on. One of the biggest drawbacks of the stock setup is that the headstrap is uncomfortable, and it puts a lot of pressure on your face. That means, the Meta Quest 3S's best VR accessory -- and the Meta Quest 3, too -- is a new, custom strap.

We grabbed the Kiwi Design Quest 3-Quest 3S headstrap and it's fantastic. It's also on sale right now for 20% off. Normally $30, it's discounted to $24 with a coupon code. Why am I sharing? If you pick up a Meta Quest 3 or 3S for yourself, or you're planning to gift one to someone over the holidays, I highly recommend ordering one of these straps. It vastly improves the experience and makes wearing the headset much more comfortable. It's also easy to adjust the fit, which is a big deal for kids. You have no idea how frustrating it was to constantly adjust the headstrap for my children between each turn.

Read more
Best early GPU Black Friday deals: Save on top graphics cards now
The Gigabyte RX 6750 GRE graphics card over a dark background.

Building a PC from scratch can be a lot of fun, and with the upcoming Black Friday on November 29, it's a perfect time for you to pick up hardware. One of the most fun bits of any build is picking the parts, and for that, graphics cards are probably the most fun to pick between. That said, GPUs also tend to be the most expensive pieces of hardware that go into a desktop, especially if you're trying to aim for something in the mid-to-high-end range that can easily reach $500 or even $1,000. That's why we've gone out and collected some of our favorite early Black Friday GPU deals for you below.
GIGABYTE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 -- $290 $350 17% off

This RTX 3060 is a great starter card for those who want to be on a budget and will handle most slightly older games pretty well at 1080p and 60Hz, potentially up to 100. It may struggle a bit with newer titles without compromises, but that's fine given the reduced $290 price point.

Read more
Nvidia just scaled down DLSS 3, and that’s a good thing
The RTX 4080 Super graphics card sitting on a pink background.

Nvidia's signature tech, DLSS 3, just got yet another update -- and although it's subtle, it actually seems like a good thing for some of the best graphics cards. The latest version, 3.8.10, bundled with the GeForce 566.14 driver, doesn't seem to introduce any major changes, but Nvidia enthusiasts noticed that it's about half the size that it used to be. Where's that difference coming from?

No, Nvidia didn't downgrade DLSS 3 -- at least not in any major way. Although this hasn't been confirmed by Nvidia itself, it appears that the company removed a whole bunch of DLSS presets and replaced them with just two. These presets make it easier for gamers to choose the type of focus they want to apply to each game.

Read more