A group of prominent human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are kicking off a campaign this week to ask President Obama to pardon Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who has been living in Russian exile since leaking a trove of internal documents in 2013.
A signature drive on pardonsnowden.org, which is currently behind a password-protected login, will begin on Wednesday, two days before an Oliver Stone-directed biopic hits theaters, according to Motherboard. They coincide with what Mr. Snowden’s legal team says will be a last-ditch appeal for clemency from Obama. Three felony charges are outstanding against Snowden in connection with the leaks.
“We’re going to make a very strong case between now and the end of this administration that this is one of those rare cases for which the pardon power exists,” said Snowden lawyer Ben Wizner, the director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, in a June interview with New York Magazine. – READ MORE
