India turns down Snowden's request for asylum

Following up to the official statement that ex-NSA employee Edward Snowden made on WikiLeaks yesterday, the website revealed that the whistleblower had officially submitted asylum requests to 19 countries, which included India and China.

Reuters has now reported that India turned down Snowden’s request for political protection from the US government. Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, said that while the Indian embassy in Moscow did get the request, after careful deliberation, it was decided that India saw no reason to grant the request.

Countries like Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela were featured on the list. WikiLeaks said that its legal advisor in the Edward Snowden “matter”, Sarah Harrison, delivered by hand a number of requests for asylum and asylum assistance for the whistleblower. The requests were received by an official at the Russian consulate at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow.

India turns down Snowden;s request for political protection from the US (Image Credits: AP)

In his statement yesterday , the NSA whistleblower condemned the US government for no longer being the defender of the human right to asylum. While damning the actions of NSA surveillance programmes like the PRISM programme, the ex-NSA employee said that the power lay in the hands of an angry, well-informed public who wanted a government that they deserved.

While talking to the Times of India before the decision was made, WikiLeaks Julian Assange urged India to grant Snowden political protection against the US, saying, “if a small nation like Ecuador with just 14 million people could have the guts to provide him asylum, India, which has considerable global standing with a billion plus population, should not be afraid of standing up for human rights and giving Snowden asylum.” In an exclusive interview with the publication three weeks ago, Assange said that India should not hesitate to provide Snowden with asylum if asked.

Snowden, who is facing charges of espionage, was forced to flee Hong Kong last week after the US government urged the local authorities to extradite the whistleblower. Currently in Moscow, the question that a lot of people are asking is simple. What will the ex-NSA employee do next?