'Pardon-for-Snowden' petition launched
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Human Righs Watch, the American Civil Liberties and Amnesty International have launched a public petition, urging US President Obama to pardon whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"Whistleblowers, especially those who shine light on wrongdoing in the darkest corners of government, should have options other than a long prison term or exile. And reform of the dysfunctional apparatus for intelligence whistleblowers is woefully overdue. It should begin with a pardon for Edward Snowden," HRW said in a statement.
Snowden, 32, has been living in exile for more than three years. The former National Security Agency contractor was the source of astonishing revelations of mass surveillance by the US government and its allies. Accused of violating the Espionage Act, he faces at least 30 years in jail.
The Guardian, which helped him disclose leak documents to the public, reported on September 13 that Snowden has stepped up a campaign for a presidential pardon. Speaking on Monday via a video link from Moscow, where he is in exile, Snowden said any evaluation of the consequences of his leak of tens of thousands of National Security Agency and GCHQ documents in 2013 would show clearly that people had benefited.
