Birgitta Jónsdóttir: Will Snowden get Icelandic Citizenship any time soon? Today all the members of the Icelandic Pirate Party and members from 3 other parties, including party chair of the Social Democrats and former Interior Minister put forward in the Icelandic Parliament a bill to urge the parliament to grant Edward J. Snowden citizenship. The parliament has finally received a request for citizenship from Mr Snowden and many of the parliamentarians believe it is their duty to offer Mr Snowden shelter for his USA passport has been stripped from him and has been left de-facto stateless by his own government. The parliamentarians and many Icelanders share the same concerns as Amnesty International that if extradited to the USA Mr Snowden could be at risk of ill-treatment and possibly a subject of torture. No one should be charged for disclosing information of human rights violations. Such disclosures are protected under the rights to information and freedom of expression. The current governmental parties did not have the guts to co-sponsor the bill, however they still have time to change their minds, since the parliament is heading into recess. The reason for the delay in putting forward the bill is that the parliament had not received a formal request from Snowden until today. It is impossible to predict if Snowden will be granted citizenship, this is more of a statement for the time being and an encouragement to the governmental parties to stand tall for human rights and by those that call upon our doors while faced with grave danger. The following parties and members of parliament sponsored the bill of granting Snowden citizenship. The Pirate Party, Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Party Group Chair, Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, Jón Þór Ólafsson The Left Greens, Ögmundur Jónasson, Interior Minister 2012 - 2013 Social Democrats, Helgi Hjörvar, Party Group Chair Bright Future, Páll Valur Björnsson Statement form Snowden the sponsors of the bill received tonight July 4th 2013 To: The Icelandic Parliament I want to extend my gratitude to the Icelandic parliament for considering my request for Icelandic citizenship. I have been left defacto-stateless by my own government after communicating with the public. I appreciate that Iceland, a small but significant country in the world community, shows such courage and commitment to its higher laws and ideals. I am heartened to feel the support of the Icelandic people whom I know have a long history of standing firm, even under threats of aggression, when basic principles are at stake. Edward Joseph Snowden
Posted on: Fri, 05 Jul 2013 06:15:12 +0000
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