Edward Snowden (1983 - )
Tue Jun 21, 1983
Image: Edward Snowden speaks about the NSA leaks in an interview with reporter Glenn Greenwald at the hotel The Mira Hong Kong. [Wikipedia]
Edward Snowden, born on this day in 1983, is an American whistleblower who leaked highly classified information from the NSA in 2013 when he was working as a CIA employee, exposing multiple governments' widespread surveillance programs.
Snowden's disclosures revealed numerous global surveillance programs, many run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance with the cooperation of telecommunication companies and European governments, prompting a cultural discussion about national security and individual privacy.
In 2013, the United States Department of Justice unsealed charges against Snowden of two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property, revoking his passport. Two days later, he flew into a Moscow Airport, where Russian authorities noted that his U.S. passport had been canceled, and he could not leave the airport terminal for over one month.
Russia later granted Snowden the right of asylum with an initial visa for residence for one year, and he continues to reside there on extension today.
"Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give to an American."
- Edward Snowden
- Date: 1983-06-21
- Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.theguardian.com.
- Tags: #Birthdays.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org
I’ve seen what Russia does to American citizens they detain (atheletes, reporters, teachers, etc.).
It’s telling that Edward Snowden, a former CIA agent, would not get the same or worse treatment in Russia.
Is it really? Seems like a simple case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
I find it hard to believe that Russia is just being nice to Snowden. Snowden was a former CIA agent. There are many examples of double agents in espionage throughout history, let alone between Russia and the US.
If Snowden isn’t working for Russia then you can guarentee Russia would be torturing him for any information he has. Which they don’t show any signs of doing.
AFAIK he was a contractor for the NSA
It says in the post that he was working as a CIA employee