PARIS (Sputnik) — A prominent human rights watchdog launched a hot air balloon with Edward Snowden's portrait above the Statue of Liberty in New York on Friday in a bid to urge outgoing US President Barack Obama to pardon the whistleblower.
Aujourd'hui, action d'Amnesty International pour demander la grâce pour Edward Snowden! pic.twitter.com/Km8ENjR3fh
— Amnesty France (@amnestyfrance) 13 января 2017 г.
"What could be a better symbol for protection of the whistleblower, who enabled the whole world to learn about mass surveillance? Courageously giving reporters the documents proving the existence of software that violates people's right to privacy and freedom of expression, Edward Snowden acted as a real defender of personal freedoms," the Amnesty International said in a statement, adding that over a million people worldwide signed the petition urging Obama to issue the pardon.
In the United States, Snowden faces up to 30 years in prison on charges of espionage and theft of government property.
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