Snowden has no regrets over leaks, says journalist
Source: AFP |
July 11, 2013, Thursday
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FUGITIVE US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is not afraid and has no regrets about his revelations of United States surveillance programs, the reporter who first published the secret documents said yesterday.
Glenn Greenwald, an American journalist for Britain's Guardian newspaper, also said in an interview that Venezuela seems like a "logical" asylum destination for Snowden.
"He's anxious about the next step ... but feels really good about the debate he provoked," said Greenwald, adding he had spoken with Snowden on Tuesday.
"He's very calm, without any fear and definitely happy about the choices that he made," said the journalist, who lives in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
Currently stranded in Moscow, Snowden has applied for asylum in more than two dozen countries in a bid to evade US espionage charges over his disclosure of US initiatives to gather Internet and phone data. The 30-year-old former National Security Agency contractor has gained a sympathetic ear from some leftist Latin American countries. Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have all offered him asylum.
Greenwald said he did not know which country would eventually accept the US fugitive, but suggested Venezuela was the most likely.
"I didn't spend any time talking about his asylum plans, I don't really know what he's planning on doing in terms of that," the 46-year-old US blogger said.
"To me, Venezuela seems like the most logical choice because it's bigger and stronger than the other two countries that offered asylum and will be able to protect him," he added.
But the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website said on Tuesday that Snowden had not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela as was claimed by a top Russian lawmaker in a Twitter posting that was later deleted.
Pro-Kremlin lawmaker Alexei Pushkov sparked confusion when he tweeted on Tuesday that Snowden had agreed to an offer from Caracas. He deleted the posting after about 30 minutes.
Greenwald spends much of his time in Brazil, where he lives with a Brazilian partner who was unable to join him permanently in America due to legal curbs.
Glenn Greenwald, an American journalist for Britain's Guardian newspaper, also said in an interview that Venezuela seems like a "logical" asylum destination for Snowden.
"He's anxious about the next step ... but feels really good about the debate he provoked," said Greenwald, adding he had spoken with Snowden on Tuesday.
"He's very calm, without any fear and definitely happy about the choices that he made," said the journalist, who lives in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
Currently stranded in Moscow, Snowden has applied for asylum in more than two dozen countries in a bid to evade US espionage charges over his disclosure of US initiatives to gather Internet and phone data. The 30-year-old former National Security Agency contractor has gained a sympathetic ear from some leftist Latin American countries. Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have all offered him asylum.
Greenwald said he did not know which country would eventually accept the US fugitive, but suggested Venezuela was the most likely.
"I didn't spend any time talking about his asylum plans, I don't really know what he's planning on doing in terms of that," the 46-year-old US blogger said.
"To me, Venezuela seems like the most logical choice because it's bigger and stronger than the other two countries that offered asylum and will be able to protect him," he added.
But the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website said on Tuesday that Snowden had not yet formally accepted asylum in Venezuela as was claimed by a top Russian lawmaker in a Twitter posting that was later deleted.
Pro-Kremlin lawmaker Alexei Pushkov sparked confusion when he tweeted on Tuesday that Snowden had agreed to an offer from Caracas. He deleted the posting after about 30 minutes.
Greenwald spends much of his time in Brazil, where he lives with a Brazilian partner who was unable to join him permanently in America due to legal curbs.
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