Snowden: 'Unlawful' US Campaign Blocking My Right to Asylum

Whistleblower Edward Snowden has accused his native US of waging an “unlawful” and “threatening” campaign against his attempt to seek political asylum in a foreign nation. According to news agencies, he has invited representatives from key human rights and legal groups to meet with him at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, where he has been stranded in stateless limbo for nearly three weeks.

According to Reuters—which confirmed the authenticity of a letter posted to Facebook by one of the invited groups by communicating separately with Snowden—Amnesty International and Transparency International had been invited to meet Snowden, with at least the former confirming it would attend.

“This dangerous escalation represents a threat not just to the dignity of Latin America or my own personal security, but to the basic right shared by every living person to live free from persecution.” -from email to human rights groups attributed to Edward Snowden

In addition, according to Al-Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, the UN Representative to the Russian Federation and the Deputy Speaker of the Duma were invited to attend. There would be no press access, though indications were that Snowden may meet with press at a later date.

Tanya Lokshina, a Human Rights Watch employee in Moscow, posted this note to her Facebook page on Friday:

Earlier, Lokshina posted the text of the email the group received, though she noted to reporters that she could not verify if it truly was from Snowden:

And Sergei Nikitin, the head of Amnesty International Russia, told the Guardian: “Yes, I have received a brief email. It said that [Snowden] would like to meet with a representative of a human rights organisation – there was not much information there. I’m planning to go.”

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