Iceland Freezes Out Request to Grant Snowden Citizenship

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By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2013-07-05 19:29:11 UTC

Iceland will not help NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden escape his purgatory in Moscow's Sheremyetevo airport by giving him citizenship — at least for now.

Yesterday, members of Iceland's Pirate Party introduced a bill to grant Snowden citizenship and thus protect him from being extradited to the United States, which has charged him with espionage and theft of government property for leaking top secret surveillance programs.

Today, one of the members of the Pirate Party announced the Iceland parliament's refusal to discuss the bill before its summer recess.

SEE ALSO: Edward Snowden Requests Asylum in 21 Countries: Their Responses

Birgitta Jónsdóttir, an Iceland parliament member who has worked with WikiLeaks in the past, wrote in her blog: "It is with great grief I have to announce that Snowden will not be getting any form of shelter in Iceland because the current government doesnt [sic] even have enough spine for the parliament to discuss Snowden's request."

Jónsdóttir explained that the Iceland parliament Speaker of the House denied the Pirate Party's request to put the bill on the agenda on Thursday, the last day before the parliament's summer recess. Had the bill been accepted on the agenda, it could have moved forward even during the recess, according to Jónsdóttir. But now, nothing will come out of it — at least until Sept. 10, when the parliament resumes.

And even then, its chances are slim.

"It is important to put current political situation in Iceland into perspective," wrote Jónsdóttir, explaining why the proposal failed. The new conservative government, Jónsdóttir wrote, is very different from the one that preceded it, of which she was a member. "This new government intentions is to bring us back to the same form of governing as we had before and lead us to the 3rd largest financial collapse in the history of the world."

Despite her disappointment, Jónsdóttir remained hopeful that someone else might step in and aid Snowden, whom she calls a "hero."

"I hope we have set an example for other parliaments that remain is session this summer or gather sooner then ours to give Snowden citizenship for he has been made stateless by his own government for blowing the whistle on grave human rights violations by his and other governments against all of humanity," she wrote in the blog post.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks tweeted that Snowden has applied for asylum in six new countries, but didn't specify which ones, "due to attempted U.S. interference." This brings the total number of countries where Snowden is seeking asylum up to 27, although many have already rejected his requests.

Image via Kay Nietfeld/AFP/Getty Images

Topics: edward snowden, Iceland, NSA, U.S., US & World, World