Early this month, Edward Snowden, the ex-CIA systems analyst who exposed the US spy programme, asked Donald Trump to pardon Wikileaks founder Julian Assange:
It has been more than 7 years since Snowden fled to Moscow. In October he was granted permanent residency in Russia, and now, with his wife Lindsay Mills, expecting their first baby boy.
For the older Julian Assange, the story is quite different. In 2012, he took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London to avoid the Swedish arrest warrant. Once his asylum was withdrawn in April 2019, he was immediately arrested by the police. Currently he is being held in HM Prison Belmarsh, reportedly in ill health, and waiting the court’s decision to extradite him to the US.
There have been continuous efforts to save Snowden and Assange, including online petitions:
- Asylum for Edward Snowden! (more than 16,000 supporters)
- Don’t hand Assange over to the U.S.! (more than 493,000 supporters)
- Free Julian Assange, before it’s too late. Sign to STOP the USA Extradition (more than 543,000 supporters)
For Assange, there have been protests on the street, in front of the court and prison. Some months ago, more than 160 current and former world leaders, lawmakers…
