U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden will have the opportunity to testify about U.S. spying and surveillance activities before European parliamentarians next year.
Despite some opposition from Conservative Members, the European Parliament voted Thursday to invite Snowden to take part in a hearing on the U.S. National Security Agency’s (NSA) widespread surveillance activities.
Snowden could now appear, via video link, as early as next month to respond to members’ questions about the NSA monitoring the communications of European Union citizens.
The former intelligence contractor began revealing details about U.S. surveillance activities in May, when he approached then-Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald with a trove of classified documents he obtained while working for the NSA and security consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
The first batch of documents he released to Greenwald and fellow reporter Laura Poitras uncovered the NSA’s telecommunications metadata monitoring program and how the agency collected the phone records of millions of U.S. citizens.
In the months following, he released documents indicating the U.S. and its intelligence partners — including Canada — spied on world leaders, trading partners and foreign citizens.
READ MORE: Questions, but no answers about allegations Canada allowed U.S. to spy at G20
According to the Guardian, some officials expressed concern about Snowden appearing via video link, speculating that may allow the NSA to determine his exact whereabouts. That could mean Snowden may have to pre-record answers to questions that will be compiled in the coming weeks, the Guardian reported.
Snowden has been living in Russia since being granted temporary asylum in the country in August, after spending more than a month in hiding at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport, avoiding extradition to the U.S.
READ MORE: Edward Snowden leaks document suggesting CSEC set up spy posts for NSA
The U.S. government has charged him with espionage and theft of government property under its Espionage Act.
German Green Party MEP (Member of the European Parliament) Philipp Albrecht told Der Spiegel the parliamentary body investigating the NSA now has “a clear mandate to send written questions to Snowden, and I hope that he can answer this with a video message by mid-January.”
The lead rapporteur on the investigation, British Labour MEP Claude Moraes, told the Guardian that officials would be “rigorous and fair” when they question Snowden.
Moraes also said he plans to ask Snowden about his decision to go public with the NSA documents and for “his opinion on the impact of his revelations on security, intelligence, and the ‘right to know.'”
READ MORE: Malala Yousafzai, Edward Snowden nominated for EU human rights award (Sept. 17)
Comments