The famous whistleblower, Edward Snowden, has once again re-affirmed his interest of going back to United States after he leaked some classified NSA documents to different reporters. It can be remembered that the former government contractor escaped from the United States back in 2013 after the leakage and after a case was filed by the U.S government for three counts of felonies under the Espionage Act.
Just recently, with his interview with BBC, Snowden has once again clearly stated his plans of returning to the U.S despite the possibility of serving a jail time up to three decades. Snowden's plan of returning to the U.S was first reported via Wired Magazine in 2014, and yet the government had no response for it. But still Snowden emphasized his voluntary surrender and possible imprisonment as long as it "serves the right purpose." On an interview Snowden with BBC, Snowden speaks about his surrender, and on his statement via techcrunch, he stated that;
"I've volunteered to go to prison with the government many times. What I won't do is I won't serve as a deterrent to people trying to do the right thing in difficult situations."
This decision of Snowden was of course objected by his legal counsel, for they know that with Espionage Act, a fair trial would be near to impossible. Even Snowden himself is cognizant of such possibilities, especially that most of the U.S officials consider him as "traitor and coward", New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie even called him "garbage". On a similar transcript via techcrunch Snowden stated that;
"The Espionage Act finds anyone guilty who provides any information to the public, regardless of whether it is right or wrong. You aren't even allowed to explain to a jury what your motivations were for revealing this information. It is simply a question of, 'Did you reveal information?' If yes, you go to prison for the rest of your life."
Despite the possible jail time, Snowden still stands firm with his intention of going back to US and face a possible jail time. On the other hand, other people who considered Snowden as patriot are campaigning and asking President Barack Obama for a full pardon. However, the US government and its officials are still silent about their plans regarding Snowden's impending return to US and most especially of a possible pardon.
What do you think about the plan of Snowden returning to US? Would he be safe or not? Feel free to share and comment below.
