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The Globe and Mail reports that Edward Snowden's Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena says the fugitive former US spy agency contractor who leaked details of the government’s mass surveillance programs was working with American and German lawyers to return home. “I won’t keep it secret that he … wants to return back home. And we are doing everything possible now to solve this issue. There is a group of U.S. lawyers, there is also a group of German lawyers and I’m dealing with it on the Russian side.” Kucherena added that Snowden is ready to return to the States, but on the condition that he is given a guarantee of a legal and impartial trial. The lawyer said Snowden had so far only received a guarantee from the US Attorney General that he will not face the death penalty. Kucherena says that Snowden is able to travel outside Russia since he has a three-year Russian residency permit, but "I suspect that as soon as he leaves Russia, he will be taken to the US embassy."
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Random2 on Wednesday March 04 2015, @03:57PM
The last think I want to see if one of the greatest patriots of our time get lynched by the government while people like Clapper, who lied under oath and that CIA general who revealed Classified information for personal gain [go.com] get away with nothing.
Even if Snowden somehow isn't burned at the stake by the government (excuse me, cruelly and unusually tortured, such as the case with Manning), he is surely to have other 'Patriots' trying to lynch-mob him. He's worked for the CIA, he knows how effective they can be at making 'accidents' happen. He has to know it won't end well for him.
Ellsberg got lucky, he was high enough up and enough people cared that he didn't get lynched.
Snowden has done a great service to his country in revealing how utterly pervasive (and perverse) the state surveillance of this 'free' land has become. It's a debt the American people cannot repay so long as they refuse to rise up and force the government to change. The only 'America' Snowden should wish to return to is the one he sought for by revealing the information he did, which, sadly, has never existed.
If only I registered 3 users earlier....
(Score: 2) by buswolley on Wednesday March 04 2015, @04:40PM
Too high profile. If Snowden gets terms for a trial then the U.S. government will honor it, in the sense of having a legal proceeding.
However, I imagine a smear trial that will impinge on his character with trumped up evidence of some form of child abuse, spying for a foreign government, etc.
subicular junctures
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tathra on Wednesday March 04 2015, @05:01PM
if he does get terms for a trial, his only hope, and what absolutely needs to happen, is jury nullification. [wikipedia.org] he undoubtedly broke the law, but he did a great service to his country in doing so. unfortunately his chance of even getting an impartial jury or fair trial is pretty much nil.