Snowden's Asylum: 'It's the law, stupid'
It should be made clear that Russia has no legal, political or moral duty to turn Snowden over to American authorities.
Last Modified: 05 Aug 2013 13:53
|
||||||
|
||||||
Russia's grant of temporary refugee
status to Snowden for one year was in full accord with the normal level
of protection to be given to anyone accused of nonviolent political
crimes in a foreign country, writes Richard Falk [AP]
|
||||||
The most influential media in the United States has
lived up to its pro-government bias in the Snowden Affair in three major
ways: firstly, by consistently referring to Snowden by the demeaning
designation of 'leaker' rather than as 'whistleblower' or 'surveillance
dissident,' both more respectful and accurate. Secondly, they are completely ignoring the degree to which Russia's grant of temporary refugee status to Snowden for one year was in full accord with the normal level of protection to be given to anyone accused of nonviolent political crimes in a foreign country, and pursued diplomatically and legally by the government that is seeking to indict and prosecute. In effect, for Russia to have turned Snowden over to the United States under these conditions would have been morally and politically scandalous considering the nature of his alleged crimes . Thirdly, the media's refusal to point out that espionage, the main accusation against Snowden, is the quintessential 'political offense' in international law, and as such is routinely excluded from any list of extraditable offenses. That is, even if there had been an extradition treaty between the United States and Russia, it should have been made clear that there was no legal duty on Russia's part to turn Snowden over to American authorities for criminal prosecution, and a moral and political duty not to do so, especially in the circumstances surrounding the controversy over Snowden. |
Continue reading the article here: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/08/2013841016657318.html
In verband met geldwolven die denken geld te kunnen claimen op krantenartikelen die op een blog als deze worden geplaatst maar na meestal een dag voor de krantenlezers aan leeswaardigheid hebben ingeboet terwijl wij vreemdelingenrecht specialisten ze soms wel nog jaren gebruiken om er een kopie van te maken voor een zaak ga ik over tot het plaatsen van alleen het eerste stukje. Ja ik weet het: de kans dat u doorklikt is geringer dan wanneer het hele artikel hier staat en een kopie van het orgineel maken handig kan zijn voor uw zaak. Wilt u zelf wat overnemen van dit weblog. Dat mag. Zet er alleen even een link bij naar het desbetreffende artikel zodat mensen niet alleen dat wat u knipt en plakt kunnen lezen maar dat ook kunnen doen in de context.
Reacties