BERLIN, December 1 (Sputnik) — The German branch of Reporters Without Borders called on Berlin to grant asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Germany's News Aktuell press service reported Monday.
"If the federal government really intends to better protect itself from surveillance, it should take in such courageous whistle-blowers as Edward Snowden instead of persecuting people like him among its own ranks," chairman of the organization's Berlin office Michael Rediske said.
Snowden was awarded this year's Right Livelihood award in Sweden on Monday, known as the Alternative Nobel Prize and usually shared among four laureates from "all walks of life," according to the organization's official website.
Noting the risk that Snowden took in revealing "mass violation of fundamental rights" by intelligence agencies, Rediske stressed that his protection in Russia is "an indictment of Germany and other countries that see themselves as liberal democracies."
Former US National Security Agency contractor, Edward Snowden leaked classified information in 2013, revealing the US government's vast global electronic surveillance program, with senior German officials among its targets. Russia first granted temporary asylum, then a three-year residency permit to Snowden.
