Petition to Free Edward Snowden Delivered to Obama

Edward  Snowden (AP Images)

By    |   Friday, 13 January 2017 03:27 PM EST ET

A petition with more than 1 million signatures to free former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was delivered to President Barack Obama Friday.

Snowden has been living in Russia under asylum since 2013, when U.S. authorities charged him with espionage-related crimes for stealing and leaking classified information.

According to The Hill, one group is trying to get those charges dropped.

"Pardoning Snowden would show the world the U.S. cares [about] human rights at a time of great concern," American Civil Liberties Union attorney Ben Wizner told The Hill.

Wizner is part of the Pardon Snowden Campaign petition.

The information Snowden made public mostly dealt with secret government surveillance programs. His supporters say the information he revealed helped establish new U.S. laws regarding the collection of private citizens' information.

"Remember, Snowden said systems we were building could be handed to a tyrant," Wizner told The Hill. "Luckily we listened, and passed significant surveillance reform — something administration officials have agreed was the right thing to do."

Not everyone wants Snowden freed, however.

Sen. Tom Cotton said last month Snowden should "rot in jail for the rest of his life."

Rep. Mike Pompeo, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to serve as CIA director, has said in the past Snowden should be executed for treason for what he did.

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Politics
A petition with more than 1 million signatures to free former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was delivered to President Barack Obama Friday.
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2017-27-13
Friday, 13 January 2017 03:27 PM
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