A White House petition demanding a full pardon for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has reached over 100,000 signatures since its creation on June 9, meaning the Obama administration has to review the petition’s demands and issue a response.
The petition states that: “Edward Snowden is a
national hero and should be immediately issued a full, free, and
absolute pardon for any crimes he has committed or may have
committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA
surveillance programs”
Within just two weeks of the petition being on line – half the
time required to collect the 100,000 signatures necessary for a
review – the petition managed to attract 101,350, and the number
continues to grow by the second.
The White House insisted that it welcomes “appropriate
debate” over the Patriot Act in the light of Snowden’s
exposure of NSA mass surveillance programs.
However, it emerged on Saturday that Snowden had been charged
with violating the Espionage Act.
Snowden leaked top-secret documents to the Washington Post and
the Guardian that demonstrated the existence of a US National
Security Agency’s extensive spying program called PRISM. The
program was designed to collect information about digital
communications allowing real-time online surveillance of US
citizens.
He is accused of “theft of government property,”“unauthorized communication of national defense
information,” and “wilful communication of classified
communications intelligence information to an unauthorized
person.” The US government has asked Hong Kong to detain him
ahead of a possible move to extradite him.
If convicted, Snowden could face up to 30 years behind bars.