Edward Snowden, Former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to grant him asylum. Snowden leaked classified documents detailing the US government's surveillance programs and is now living in Russia to avoid prosecution.
In an interview broadcast Monday on France's Inter radio, a stressed Snowden said that "protecting whistleblowers is not a hostile act" and that he feels entitled to get protected status in France. Macron did not make any comment regarding this.
In the interview, Snowden said, "love to see" Mr Macron make a gesture that allowed him to live in the country.
He also said that one of the saddest things about his story was that “the only place that an American whistleblower can speak out today is not in Europe but Russia”
Codenamed PRISM, the intelligence leak was one of the largest in US history. It contained 41 PowerPoint slides, that outlined the NSA’s use of data mining to carry out mass surveillance exercises on the public. Snowden had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in France in 2013 under Macron's predecessor, Francois Hollande. He has also sought asylum in several other countries.
