Denmark Considers Granting Asylum To Edward Snowden

[Purveyor]

After the European Parliament passed a resolution Thursday urging states to drop criminal charges against former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and offer him protection, two political parties in Denmark have stepped forward, the Local reported Friday. The left-leaning Alternative and the Red-Green Alliance parties want Denmark’s parliament to vote on offering Snowden asylum.

“Snowden is a democratic hero and it is fantastic that the EU has now gone in front and is holding democracy’s banner high,” said Uffe Elbæk, a member of parliament from the Alternative party. “I would be incredibly proud of Denmark if we were the European country to offer Edward Snowden asylum.”

Elbæk urged Denmark’s parliament to offer Snowden asylum last year. Snowden fled the U.S. in 2013 after leaking documents to journalists that exposed the mass surveillance programs of the NSA. Snowden first headed to Hong Kong before Russian President Vladimir Putin granted him refuge in Russia where he currently resides.

Denmark’s Red-Green Alliance also issued a statement in support of offering Snowden asylum. However, it remains unclear if a vote would be scheduled any time soon.

more...

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/denmark-considers-granting-asylum-to-edward-snowden/

[cantbeserious]

1. Excellent News

eom

[Live and Learn]

2. I hope they do. He deserves to be able to live in a truly progressive country.

Wish we could all be so fortunate.

[MattSh]

3. He'd be stupid to even consider it...

I wouldn't put it past Denmark, the EU, and the USA to be collaborating in an attempt for the USA to get it's grubby hands on him. If the USA says "hand him over," depend on any EU country to hand him over.

[BillZBubb]

4. That would depend on how Denmark's offer of asylum was worded.

I would be more fearful of a CIA snatch operation.

[closeupready]

5. Not necessarily. Polanski has successfully rebutted US extradition requests.

With the collaboration of France and Switzerland.

And of course, France refuses to extradite ANY French citizen, with perhaps extremely limited exceptions.

[erronis]

7. Lots of ways to take out this "enemy of the state"

I don't think those agencies embarrassed by Edward Snowden will care how messy the solution is, if they can only get their hands/weapons trained on him - preferably in a docile Old Europe state. The State Known As Russia is probably not going to let US agents execute someone within their borders - would not look good.

Extradition is just a nice phrase. Sort of how we dealt with other people that we didn't want to have available for further depositions or public disclosures.

[tritsofme]

6. The headline is misleading, there are a few minority MPs proposing this

It seems very unlikely that this is something the center-right government of Denmark is giving any real consideration to.