Amnesty International weighs in on Snowden

According to Amnesty International " an individual cannot be extradited while they have an asylum claim under way in any country."

The US may not like the major International Organization stating:
"No one should be charged under any law for disclosing information of human rights violations by the US government. Such disclosures are protected under the rights to information and freedom of expression," said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.

But the US should realize they may want to follow the rules just as they expect other countries to do... no "above the law" stuff in the international arena.

The link to the full article is below.


Amnesty International Article

reply to post by NickK3

very good! Also there are rules concerning asylum seekers by the UN. One might be rejected, a little legal loophole most immigration lawyers don't even know ... but one cannot be returned to ones own country if one claims to be in danger of ones life. So legally one can be rejected but has to be kept in country till a country that will accept you can be located. But naturally for the USA those tiny lil' things don't matter.

I have a feeling Snowden has some pretty big friends in some pretty high places now. He will be safe somewhere regardless of who wants him and who doesn't.

He has made some mighty enemies (as we can plainly see), but he has gained just as many and mighty friends.

I hope this thread gets a lot of flags/stars and endorsement so they can see we're not asleep at the wheel, and freedom of information exposing their abuse is not a crime and they don't have the right to create criminal laws at their whim.

reply to post by NickK3


I just heard John Kerry on the news, demanding from Russia that they act in accordance with applicable law.

I'm curious to see what the US gov. considers as "applicable"... especially now that even their allies feel alienated by the unjust behaviour of the current US administration experienced in recent weeks.

Don't you just HATE to see the US end up on Amnesty's site though as being potential human rights violators or human rights violators?

I just hate that. Usually I think they are right on target though - like they said the drug war was causing a lot of kids, especially black kids, to grow up with a parent in jail, and presented the drug war from the kid's point of view. I dunno, I just got that when I read it.

USA is looking like China after that blogger, but worse, IMO.

things like this are why i hate the U.N and other "international" organizations, their very existence seeks to destroy the sovereignty of nations and their laws under the guise of protecting "human rights" and preventing war. it's all a ruse to destroy nations and people fall for it because their desperation to live in a better world where there is no suffering or strife. why should traitors get off for their crimes just because a hostile nation grants them asylum? might as well just give Russia all of our secrets while we're at it.

Originally posted by namehere
might as well just give Russia all of our secrets while we're at it.

What makes you think they don't already know them? After all, we know their's.

Good on Amnesty International for sharing their view.

"Regardless of where Snowden ends up he has the right to seek asylum. For such a claim to succeed, he must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution. Even if such a claim failed, no country can return a person to another country where there is a substantial risk of ill-treatment,” said Brown.Op source

With all that has gone on lately such as Hastings death and this released:
"Intelligence officials overheard joking about how NSA leaker should be 'disappeared' after handing classified documents to press" - See here

This deserves more attention.

BUMP!

I didn't realize this was a generally accepted international law... Apparently, neither did the US gov!

No wonder the rest of the world isn't "complying" with our leaders' hissy fits to extradite!

Wonder why our US media hasn't reported on this little detail? OMG Could the media be full of crap? No way...



S+F!

reply to post by ColCurious

I started a thread about some of Kerry's comments today. Link in my siggy.
"It is possible that the United States will be attacked..." -John Kerry

Amnesty International has a valid point and justifiable reason to place the US on the list of violators when it comes to human rights. Not just with Snowden but a long history of violations that never seem to get mentioned. As long as the US had the hush money it didn't show up on the list but with the in your face violations on a global scale the US can't buy its way off the list.

Snowden has a legitimate case for asylum not only for political persecution but fearing for his life as well. The US has proven that it can, will and has used drones to kill US citizens without a trial or conviction of a crime. This is a clear violation of human rights and even international law as they did so on foreign soil. This does not even address the outright murder of civilians with the use of drones or GITMO.

Amnesty International has every right to place the US on the list and close to the top of violators. Snowden is just the latest one the US wants to violate. As for Hastings...well thats another story and the governments ability to R/C cars.

Originally posted by namehere
things like this are why i hate the U.N and other "international" organizations, their very existence seeks to destroy the sovereignty of nations and their laws under the guise of protecting "human rights" and preventing war. it's all a ruse to destroy nations and people fall for it because their desperation to live in a better world where there is no suffering or strife. why should traitors get off for their crimes just because a hostile nation grants them asylum? might as well just give Russia all of our secrets while we're at it.

so the guy exposes illegal activities being perpetrated by the U.S. federal government upon it's own citizens, and somehow HE'S the bad guy?

how in the hell does THAT logic work?

sometimes I wonder if they're giving out free bottles of stupid pills with every new internet service install..

reply to post by namehere


.
Odd, that's kinda like a lot of the Europeans
feel about the US. Your 'war on terror' seems
to be a carte blanche for the US to gather any
data on *anyone, anywhere* they please.

Snowden is awesome. It's a good thing the
world is eyeballing the US.

Oh, and Russia is not a hostile nation.
.

I have a great deal of respect for the work Amnesty International does ... however ....
Amnesty International doesn't dictate foreign policy between countries.
If the USA has an extradition treaty with another country, then Snowden can be extradited.
If the USA and Russia come to an agreement .. Russia can indeed turn Snowden over.
(although I highly doubt Putin will do this .. he has no respect for Obama/USA).

Originally posted by Daedalus

Originally posted by namehere
things like this are why i hate the U.N and other "international" organizations, their very existence seeks to destroy the sovereignty of nations and their laws under the guise of protecting "human rights" and preventing war. it's all a ruse to destroy nations and people fall for it because their desperation to live in a better world where there is no suffering or strife. why should traitors get off for their crimes just because a hostile nation grants them asylum? might as well just give Russia all of our secrets while we're at it.

so the guy exposes illegal activities being perpetrated by the U.S. federal government upon it's own citizens, and somehow HE'S the bad guy?

how in the hell does THAT logic work?

sometimes I wonder if they're giving out free bottles of stupid pills with every new internet service install..

Could not have put it better myself

Originally posted by ColCurious
I just heard John Kerry on the news, demanding from Russia that they act in accordance with applicable law.

Yeah ... that was pretty pathetic. Kerry was 'DEMANDING" that Russia turn over Snowden. :shk: Why on earth would Russia bend to our demands? Because it's law?? Putin has no respect for the USA or Obama .. and there is no reason why he should have any respect. I found the 'demand' by Kerry to be wussy and pathetic.

Originally posted by Daedalus
so the guy exposes illegal activities being perpetrated by the U.S. federal government upon it's own citizens, and somehow HE'S the bad guy?

That's not the part that makes him the bad guy. If that was all he did, then he'd be a hero of epic proportions. Worthy of patriotic history legend like Paul Revere. But Snowden didn't stop there but instead went to China and spilled state secrets of the international type that weakened America's national security. That's where his hero-story starts to unravel and get convoluted.

reply to post by FlyersFan


It looks like he didn't have much of a choice though, he could either end up in a hole like manning or get amnesty from somewhere and I highly doubt he would have gotten this far without help from other nations and that help comes at a price. Damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

Snowden obviously knew what he was going to be up against when he Leaked NSA intel. He is NO dummy, and must had been planning ways to avoid capture, and setup ways to get around with out being tracked by his buddies at the NSA, CIA, etc.... I'm glad he exposed the real traitors of this Nation, and I'll bet he has a lot more support in other countries than what most sheeple people realize, here in the US. The US just wants this to go away so badly, and cant stand that China, and Russia wont play the same game, like the US. Its far past time, for the US government to realize that they cannot bully other countries into getting what they want.

Reminds me of that game weres WALDO.

Originally posted by Todzer
It looks like he didn't have much of a choice though, .

He had a lot of choices ....
- Don't say anything at all.
- Tell the American people about the NSA spying on them, and then stay and fight like a patriot.
- Tell the American people about the NSA spying on them, and then run.
- Tell the American people about the NSA spying on them, and then run and help America's enemies (China and Russia) by telling state secrets that weaken the defense of the USA.

He decided to do the last .... which means he isn't a patriot. He has harmed America.

I get that there is a huge LUV-FEST going on here about Snowden. Lots of people are turning him into a folk-hero. But take a look at ALL his actions, not just the release of the info about the NSA spying on Americans.

I'm glad he released that info. It was a good thing to do. It was a patriotic thing to do. It was a heroic thing to do. But he didn't stop there. He went on to aid America's foreign enemies and put Americans in danger . So his actions and motives are now highly suspect. People here hate to hear those facts. But it's the truth.