Der Spiegel english Snowden and Germany latest info
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Snowden met with Ströbele in secret on Thursday for almost three hours, with journalists John Geotz, from public German broadcaster ARD, and Georg Mascolo, the former editor-in-chief of SPIEGEL, also in attendance. Footage of the meeting was broadcast by ARD on Thursday night.
'Why Not Talk to Him Personally?'
At a press conference on Friday, Ströbele revealed the meeting had been organized for months. "You all know that since June, the entire world has been talking about Edward Snowden," he said. "Then I thought, why not talk to him personally?"
"I therefore have not had a holiday because I have been waiting with a packed bag," Ströbele added.
Snowden is holed up in Moscow after being granted asylum by the Russian authorities in June. He fled the US after leaking the documents, which have repeatedly embarrassed Washington and other Western governments by revealing the extent of their intelligence gathering -- including reports that the NSA was bugging Merkel's own mobile phone. The US has issued a warrant for Snowden's arrest.
The main topic of Thursday's meeting was the conditions under which Snowden would be able to testify to a public prosecutor or an investigating committee of Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag. According to Ströbele, Snowden raised the possibility of making a statement in front of an inquiry.
'He Knows a Lot'
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According to the veteran Green Party politician, who represents Berlin's Kreuzberg district, it would theoretically be possible to assure Snowden safe passage to Berlin, or to question him in Moscow. Snowden himself has indicated he has "interest in principal", but also referred to his "complicated legal situation," ARD reported.
Snowden's lawyer, however, has said that he cannot travel abroad to testify. Anatoly Kucherena told Russian news agency Interfax that his client would not testify about alleged spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Snowden would remain in Russia -- he could not travel abroad as he would then lose his temporary asylum status. "In addition, according to the existing agreements, he cannot disclose any classified information as long as he is in Russia," Kucherena told Interfax.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/snowden-tells-german-lawmaker-he-is-willing-to-testify-in-nsa-scandal-a-931237.html#spLeserKommentare
