As Edward Snowden's quest for political asylum plays out as a
global cat-and-mouse chase, defenders of international law say the US is
acting the bully as it scrambles to locate and gain custody of the
30-year-old NSA whistleblower.
Though
his whereabouts remained unknown Monday, supporters of Snowden say that
the US government's aggressive pursuit of the confessed NSA
whistleblower—and the mainstream media's fixation on him and not the
information he has delivered to the global public regarding a "massive
worldwide surveillance system"—is what should most trouble those
concerned about privacy, international law and civil liberties.
"The US is doing everything they can do to interfere with [Snowden's
effort to gain asylum]," said Michael Ratner, president emeritus of the
Center for Constitutional Rights and a lawyer with expertise in
international law, during a press call with journalists on Monday.
"They're bullying countries all over the world, even where they have no
basis for doing so... Bullying them essentially so that they can get Ed
Snowden rendered to the United States where he can be prosecuted."
Pushing back against government statements characterizing Snowden as a
"criminal" "traitor" or "fugitive of justice," Ratner said the
whistleblower "is not a fugitive in any sense of the word" and that
there is "an important and legal basis for Ed Snowden's application for
asylum" abroad.
"The Obama administration was not given a
mandate by the people of the US to hack and spy upon the entire world,
to abridge the US constitution or the laws of others nations." -Julian
Assange, Wikileaks
Responding to comments made by US Secretary of State John Kerry and
the White House warning others countries to hand over Snowden, Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange blasted the Obama administration's response to
the situation.
"The US secretary of state is wrong in law," said Assange. He added,
"The Obama administration was not given a mandate by the people of the
US to hack and spy upon the entire world, to abridge the US constitution
or the laws of others nations."
"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," he said.
Though many in the corporate US news media have been quick to follow
the US government's line that Snowden should be considered a "traitor"
for his release of documents that expose details of the NSA's vast
spying apparatus to the US and global public, Ratner said that Snowden's
actions were underpinned by a clear political motive and are therefore
protected under international law.
Ratner stressed that when it comes to international law, "asylum
trumps extradition" meaning that even if Russia, Ecuador, or other
nations have a bilateral extradition agreement for criminal offenders,
it does not necessarily mean that those countries are obligated to hand
over a person seeking political asylum, especially one who has
reasonable fear he will not be treated equitably or fairly by his home
country's justice system.
"There's no international arrest warrant that we know of," said
Ratner, arguing that Snowden's alleged crimes "are classic political
crimes under the extradition treaty" and that the US' efforts should be
seen as a large, powerful saying to other countries 'Send him here'
when, in fact, there's "no legal basis for it."
The ongoing and aggressive attempt to extradite Snowden, added
Assange, "further demonstrates the breakdown in the rule of law by the
Obama administration."
Under the United Nations' Refugee Convention, Snowden would qualify
for protection as someone who fears "being persecuted for political
opinion," said Ratner.
"What we should be discussing, unlike what seems the attention primarily in the media right now—Where's Ed Snowden? What country is he going to?—is
the massive surveillance system being carried out by the US, the UK,
and perhaps other countries all over the world and the violations of
rights of people all over the world." -Michael Ratner, Center for
Constitutional Rights
From a press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam on Monday, Ecuador's
foreign minister Ricardo Patino read from Snowden's asylum application
letter in which Snowden himself discussed why we was taking such lengths
to avoid US authorities.
"I have been accused of being a traitor" and "there have been calls
for me to be executed or imprisoned," the letter from Snowden said. In
addition, he said it would be "unlikely" that he would receive "a fair
trial or humane treatment" if returned to the US.
Because the US is charging Snowden under the Espionage Act,
says law professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law's Marjorie Cohn, Snowden has "a well-founded fear of persecution in the US."
And citing the treatment of another well-known whistleblower, Pfc.
Bradley Manning, Cohn suggests Snowden can "probably make a good case
for political asylum in Ecuador."
Norman Solomon, whose group Roots Action is circulating a petition calling the Obama administration to keep its "
hands off" Snowden, decried the diplomatic bullying described by Ratner and others.
"The same government that continues to expand its invasive dragnet of
surveillance, all over the United States and the rest of the world,"
Solomon
wrote on
Common Dreams,
"is now asserting its prerogative to drag Snowden back to the USA from
anywhere on the planet. It’s not only about punishing him and
discouraging other potential whistleblowers. Top U.S. officials are also
determined to—quite literally—silence Snowden’s voice, as Bradley
Manning’s voice has been nearly silenced behind prison walls."
He continued, “Those at the top of the U.S. government insist that
Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning have betrayed it. But that’s
backward. Putting its money on vast secrecy and military violence
instead of democracy, the government has betrayed Snowden and Manning
and the rest of us.”
In addition to the petition effort by Roots Action, more than 113,000
people as of Monday afternoon had signed a petition on the White House
website calling for President Obama to pardon Snowden.
"To charge Snowden with espionage is a severe form of political persecution." -Mark Weisbrot, CEPR
"Edward Snowden is a national hero and should be immediately issued a
full, free, and absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may
have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance
programs," the petition read.
Though the petition received a large enough number of signers to
mandate an official response from the White House, the president is not
likely to heed its urging.
That leaves Ecuador the most likely candidate candidate to offer
asylum to Snowden, though its been reported that he's considering
applications for other countries as well.
Mark Weisbrot, an expert on Latin America and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington,
was pointed
in why supporters of the public's right to know should support both
Snowden and the country—whether Ecuador or another—if and when they
grant Snowden political asylum.
“It is important that everyone who believes in freedom to defend
Ecuador from Washington’s threats, which are very likely if the
Ecuadorean government grants asylum to Snowden," said Weisbrot. "Other
governments around the world – whose citizens’ rights have been violated
by NSA surveillance overreach – should stand behind Ecuador if it
chooses to grant Snowden asylum, as should NGO’s. To charge Snowden with
espionage is a severe form of political persecution."
In the end, while the intrigue over Snowden's whereabouts and the
question over whether or not he is captured by the US or receives safe
passage to a country willing to protect him, Ratner was among the many
commentators in the progressive community on Monday who were concerned
that the focus on Snowden as an individual was partially thwarting the
bigger and more important story about the contents of what Snowden's
actions have revealed.
"What we should be discussing, unlike what seems the attention primarily in the media right now—
Where's Ed Snowden? What country is he going to?—is
the massive surveillance system being carried out by the US, the UK,
and perhaps other countries all over the world and the violations of
rights of people all over the world," Ratner said.
Ratner blasted the media's fixation on Snowden—his whereabouts,
whether he's a "traitor" or not, and other aspects of his personal life
that were a distraction to the real story which according to Ratner is
the existence of a "massive worldwide surveillance system."
And as Solomon concluded:
Top policymakers in Washington seem bent on running as much of the
world as possible. Their pursuit of Edward Snowden has evolved into a
frenzied rage.
Those at the top of the U.S. government insist that Edward Snowden
and Bradley Manning have betrayed it. But that’s backward. Putting its
money on vast secrecy and military violence instead of democracy, the
government has betrayed Snowden and Manning and the rest of us.
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