UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for respect for Snowden's right to seek asylum

[Catherina]

Translation mine

The UN calls for respect for Snowden's right to seek asylum

12 de Julio de 2013 | 14:41

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said today that former U.S. intelligence analyst Edward Snowden has the right to seek asylum and should be protected for disclosing information that violates human rights.

"Snowden's case shows the need to protect people who disclose information that has implications for the respect of human rights and the importance of ensuring respect for the right to privacy," said Pillay said in a statement.


La ONU pide que se respete el derecho de Snowden a solicitar asilo

La Alta Comisionada de Derechos Humanos de la ONU, Navi Pillay, afirmó hoy que el ex analista de la CIA estadounidense Edward Snowden tiene derecho a solicitar asilo y debería ser protegido por haber revelado información que atenta contra los derechos humanos.

"El caso de Snowden muestra la necesidad de proteger a las personas que revelan información que tiene implicaciones en el respeto de los derechos humanos, así como la importancia de asegurar el respeto por el derecho a la privacidad", aseguró Pillay citada en un comunicado.

http://www.eldeber.com.bo/la-onu-pide-que-se-respete-el-derecho-de-snowden-a-solicitar-asilo-/130712144141?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The news is NOT being reported the same in the US as it is in the rest of the world right now.

[hr]
Update: Here is how the Anglo press is reporting that story so far:

U.N. rights chief warns on undue surveillance in Snowden case

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20130712&t=2&i=750280208&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE96B1F0O00
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay speaks to Reuters at her hotel in Madrid April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Susana Vera

GENEVA | Fri Jul 12, 2013 2:22pm EDT

(Reuters) - U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay made her first comment on the Edward Snowden case on Friday, saying people needed to be sure their communications were not being unduly scrutinized and calling on all countries to respect the right to seek asylum.

"While concerns about national security and criminal activity may justify the exceptional and narrowly-tailored use of surveillance programs, surveillance without adequate safeguards to protect the right to privacy actually risk impacting negatively on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms," she said.

(Reporting by Tom Miles; editing by Andrew Roche)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/us-usa-security-snowden-pillay-idUSBRE96B0T820130712

I guess she'll be getting a call soon.

[snot]

1. K&R'd.

[Enrique]

2. ok she just got herself added to the burn book

[Catherina]

3. Snowden's Whistleblowing a Human Right (Government Accountability Project)

Snowden's Whistleblowing a Human Right

by Government Accountability Project on July 12, 2013 ( The Whistleblogger / 2013 )

The press conference Friday morning by National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden, and his subsequent written statement accepting offers of asylum, now formalize his status as a recognized recipient of political asylum in five countries.

It is the position of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) that Snowden’s whistleblower status is now bolstered by political refugee status.

By threatening trade sanctions against countries abiding by international human rights standards, the US government is now violating Snowden’s right to seek and accept asylum under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This effectively creates an unprecedented global “No Fly Zone” for whistleblowers.

“The history of whistleblower prosecutions, along with these newest efforts by the US government, clearly demonstrate there are no safe, internal channels for Snowden. And now we know there are no safe external channels either,” stated GAP Executive Director Beatrice Edwards. “The US has now globalized its War on Whistleblowers.”

http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/44-2013/2834-snowdens-whistleblowing-a-human-right

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. K&R

[forestpath]

4. K&R

[malaise]

6. Rememebr what they did to Kofi Annan

when he refused to sanction their illegal war and occupation of Iraq

[Cleita]

8. That was the Bush/Cheney administration. I don't think this one will be so

blatant, I hope.

[malaise]

11. No I don't expect that either

What a mess

[Cleita]

7. Looks like some wagons are circling from more influential players in the

global scene to help him. For awhile, with the exception of the three Latin American nations offering him asylum, he seemed to be standing alone. I'm glad others with influence are getting involved.

[99th_Monkey]

12. Wondering if these three nations + the UN could make a clear military stand

... like forming-up a kind of mini-armada of 10-15 fully armed & operational
warships, and/or fighter jets to insure Snowden's safe transport to Venezuela
... ALSO accompanied by a UN Peace-Keeping contingency ... all on international
media LIVE.

It would be a very bold move indeed, very embarrassing for the US, and might
even backfire in that the US might feel so humiliated on the world stage that
it simply pulls out all the stops & massacres them militarily with some of their
fancy death-dealing devices, with the whole world watching, aghast.

But if the UN + all these nations were willing to draw a line in the sand like this,
I think it would have more than a 50% chance of succeeding.

[Cleita]

13. I hope facing US military might was tongue in cheek with you. They

know they can't. But even the mighty bully has to have his friends who approve of what he does until they don't. Once public opinion in those nations starts turning against their approval of what the US is doing, then even the bully has to back off. I'm hoping this is what is beginning to happen.

[99th_Monkey]

14. Like I said, it would be VERY bold move indeed ...

and highly unlikely to happen, but I enjoyed indulging my imagination enough
to seriously contemplate that as a possibility.

[ProSense]

9. This statement

"Snowden's case has shown the need to protect persons disclosing information on matters that have implications for human rights, as well as the importance of ensuring respect for the right to privacy," Pillay said in a statement.

"National legal systems must ensure that there are adequate avenues for individuals disclosing violations of human rights to express their concern without fear of reprisals," she added.

Pillay said undue surveillance could amount to an infringement of human rights.

"While concerns about national security and criminal activity may justify the exceptional and narrowly-tailored use of surveillance programs, surveillance without adequate safeguards to protect the right to privacy actually risks impacting negatively on the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms," she said.

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, no one may be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, and the law must protect everyone against such interference, she said.

She cited testimony by a former U.N. expert on human rights in counter terrorism, saying reliable information about human rights violations by an intelligence agency is most likely to come from within the agency, and whistleblowers in such cases should be protected from legal reprisals and disciplinary action.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/us-usa-security-snowden-pillay-idUSBRE96B0WW20130712

...seems fairly generic to me. In fact, it states the need for whistleblower protections, but Snowden bypassed all available channels.

In the U.S. he is charged with a criminal offense.

Federal prosecutors have filed a criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs, and the United States has asked Hong Kong to detain him on a provisional arrest warrant, according to U.S. officials.

Snowden was charged with theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person,” according to the complaint. The last two charges were brought under the 1917 Espionage Act.

- more -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-charges-snowden-with-espionage/2013/06/21/507497d8-dab1-11e2-a016-92547bf094cc_story.html

This is likely why Hong Kong didn't want him to stay, eventually claiming that the U.S. request included a mispelling of his name.

It's likely why Normay turned down his request.

In a press release issued by the justice ministry on Thursday, Faremo noted that the US wants Snowden extradited to face criminal charges regarding his release of secret documents. He thus has no right to asylum, she wrote, because he’s a fugitive from a democratic country with a criminal justice system like that found in the US.

Snowden’s asylum request rejected (Norway)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023170165

The only countries offering Snowden asylum are those wanting to snub the U.S.

Edward Snowden caught in asylum catch-22
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023233134

The ACLU's own text contradicts its case for Snowden's asylum bid.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023231312

[The Straight Story]

10. Hmmm:

In a press release issued by the justice ministry on Thursday, Faremo noted that the US wants Snowden extradited to face criminal charges regarding his release of secret documents. He thus has no right to asylum, she wrote, because he’s a fugitive from a democratic country with a criminal justice system like that found in the US.


Asylum, a few granted by the US:
LATIN AMERICA / U.S. Gives Asylum To Alleged Hijacker
Chronicle News Services
Published 4:00 am, Thursday, April 20, 1995

1995-04-20 04:00:00 PDT Miami -- A man accused by the Cuban government of hijacking a government boat and killing a naval officer has been granted political asylum in the United States.

Leonel Macias Gonzalez, 19, was released from a detention center Monday after an Immigration and Naturalization Service appeals board ruled in his favor. Macias had been granted political asylum in February, but the government appealed.

Witnesses have said Macias wrested control of a Cuban government boat August 8, overpowering a lieutenant and two others. Shots were fired, and two men were seen swimming to shore.

Macias then picked up 25 friends and fled. They were later rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. After the hijacking, Cuba accused the United States of covering up the alleged slaying of Lieutenant Roberto Aguilar Reyes by Macias.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/LATIN-AMERICA-U-S-Gives-Asylum-To-Alleged-3035943.php


US gives asylum to dozens of terrorists and fugitives

by Jean-Guy Allard
Source: Granma, 23 August 2011.

- Alejandro Melgar, leader of the Santa Cruz conspiracy, Bolivian businessman.

- Angel de Fana Serrano, participated in 1997, in the Isla Margarita, in a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro during the Ibero-American Summit. An associate of Luis Posada Carriles, De Fana also conspired to assassinate President Chavez.

- Armando Valladares, an accomplice in the assassination attempt of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and several terrorist acts, was imprisoned in Cuba for planting bombs in shops and resumed his work with the CIA since his departure from the island.

- Carlos Alberto Montaner, lived for several decades on his performances against Cuba. A fugitive from Cuban justice for planting bombs in shops and cinemas in 1960. He was a member of the terrorist network of Orlando Bosch. He owns homes in the U.S. and Spain.

- Gaspar Jiménez, murderer of Cuban diplomat Dartagnan Díaz Díaz, an accomplice of Luis Posada Carriles and sentenced in Panama for terrorism. Based in Miami with FBI protection.

- Guillermo Novo Sampol, a terrorist, an accomplice in the assassination of former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier, a torturer under Operation Condor, the murderer of two Cuban diplomats in Argentina, an accomplice of Luis Posada Carriles for terrorism and sentenced in Panama. Based in Miami.

More in the list here (and you can google the names in the list for more info):
http://realcuba.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/us-gives-asylum-to-dozens-of-terrorists-and-fugitives/

Assange: Will the US Remember
It Granted Asylum to Carriles
at Its Sierra Leone Embassy?


By Jean Guy Allard

The U.S. is the preferred land of asylum for all the known and unknown thugs who have ever done the bidding of the U.S. empire during its never-ending hegemonic expansion.

Translated By Lisa Steward

21 August 2012

Edited by Katya Abazajian



Spain - Kaos en La Red - Original Article (Spanish)

Will the people from the U.S. remember that their country granted asylum to terrorist Luis Posada Carriles at the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Sierra Leone while the old “Anti-Castro” murderer was busy trafficking arms to said African nation?

After sheepishly pursuing him on behalf of the U.S., the U.K. keeps Julian Assange sequestered in London, meanwhile on North American soil there are hundreds of political thugs from the entire world — most particularly from Latin America — who obtain asylum from the State Department, which in turn keeps quiet as to their presence, whereabouts and human rights violations.

The case of Posada in Sierra Leone correctly portrays Washington’s double standard when it comes to covering up and protecting its minions.

When Posada was operating from El Salvador, where he had established a terrorist base from which he carried out a series of attacks in Havana, he took a trip to Africa during which he was surprised by the military takeover on May 25, 1997.

http://watchingamerica.com/News/172896/assange-will-the-us-remember-that-it-granted-asylum-to-luis-posada-carriles-at-their-sierra-leone-embassy/


http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023235885