Petition To Pardon Edward Snowden Passes 110,000 Signatures

Edward Snowden is now one of the most wanted men in the USA after exposing the NSA surveillance program and the PRISM saga, as well as how other surveillance organisations like the GCHQ are also getting involved in the saga. On June 9th a petition on the White House website was created to pardon Edward Snowden and as of a few days ago it passed the 100,000 threshold needed to get an official reply from the Obama administration.

The petition states that:

“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 U.S government has already charged Edward Snowden with espionage and they are currently in the process of trying to bring him back to the USA under an international warrant. It is unlikely that Edward Snowden will ever get an absolute pardon but seeing the government’s response will certainly be interesting. In any case we hope that Edward Snowden can remain free from U.S custody because it seems likely he will be treated unfairly and poorly if he is captured, much like the WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning.

Image courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov