Supporting Snowden

Without Edward Snowden’s revelations, would we have seen a global debate on mass surveillance? Would the United States have put a (admittedly limited) stop to the National Security Agency’s access to information for the first time in decades? Would we have seen the European Union’s Court of Justice invalidate a transatlantic agreement on information transfers? You bet not.

Yet, for over three years, the man responsible for bringing the scandal to light has been condemned to live in exile in Russia. In his own country, he has been indicted for espionage, theft and the illegal use of government property, for which he faces the possibility of decades in prison. Barack Obama could give him a break by granting him a presidential pardon before the end of his term in office. A petition asks precisely this of Obama. It was launched on Thursday by three human rights and civil liberties organisations – the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – and signed by a number of personalities, from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak to actress Susan Sarandon. Tomorrow “Snowden,” Oliver Stone’s new biopic, will also plead the whistleblower’s case to the United States.

The White House appears to have little inclination to change its position, at least for now. According to the White House press secretary, “Edward Snowden is not a whistleblower;” he should have made his concerns known through internal channels, and he “should return to the United States”. Not a whistleblower? Even Eric Holder, the former attorney general of the United States, acknowledges it: Snowden “actually performed a public service” by sparking off a wide-ranging debate on surveillance. As for using internal channels, he tried. As for returning to the United States, he has stated he is open to doing so, on the condition that he is guaranteed a fair trial. This would not be the case under the Espionage Act, which notably condemned Chelsea Manning, the source of the great WikiLeaks revelations in 2010, to 35 years’ imprisonment.

Will a movie and a petition be enough to shake things up? It seems doubtful. The ex-consultant’s supporters recognize that the battle will be tough. But it is undoubtedly the best moment to begin, whilst the two main candidates to take Obama’s place seem anything but open to the slightest hint of leniency … The occasion is ripe to remember that in public opinion, there are many who consider Edward Snowden’s revelations an act of courage and righteousness. Snowden himself asks for nothing: “The question of whether I, as a whistleblower, should be pardoned, is not for me to answer.” Let’s ask for it for him, against the false choice the American authorities have imposed upon him – prison or exile – and against the cowardliness of European governments, who have never made the gesture of offering him asylum.