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Edward Snowden's NSA testimony offer welcomed in Germany
Source: The Guardian
Edward Snowden's NSA testimony offer welcomed in Germany
Philip Oltermann in Berlin
The Guardian, Friday 1 November 2013 17.56 GMT
German politicians have said they are keen to hear from Edward Snowden in a parliamentary inquiry about the US National Security Agency surveillance, as the US whistleblower indicated his own willingness to speak as a witness to the Bundestag.
In a letter that has been passed on to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the former NSA employee said he hoped he would "be able to co-operate in the responsible finding of fact regarding reports in the media, particularly in regard to the truth and authenticity of documents".
The content of the letter was revealed in a press conference by Green politician Hans-Christian Ströbele in Berlin on Friday. Ströbele had met Snowden for three hours in a secret location in Moscow on Thursday – neither Merkel nor the German embassy in Russia had been informed about the meeting in advance.
Ströbele, the bushy-browed veteran parliamentarian who represents Berlin's Kreuzberg district, reported that Snowden "could imagine coming to Germany, as long it was guaranteed that he could stay in Germany or a comparable country thereafter and stay safe there". He also noted the whistleblower's reservations about speaking to German representatives on Russian soil. Snowden has had his US passport revoked and is thus officially stateless – he was granted asylum in Russia but that expires in June.
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Philip Oltermann in Berlin
The Guardian, Friday 1 November 2013 17.56 GMT
German politicians have said they are keen to hear from Edward Snowden in a parliamentary inquiry about the US National Security Agency surveillance, as the US whistleblower indicated his own willingness to speak as a witness to the Bundestag.
In a letter that has been passed on to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, the former NSA employee said he hoped he would "be able to co-operate in the responsible finding of fact regarding reports in the media, particularly in regard to the truth and authenticity of documents".
The content of the letter was revealed in a press conference by Green politician Hans-Christian Ströbele in Berlin on Friday. Ströbele had met Snowden for three hours in a secret location in Moscow on Thursday – neither Merkel nor the German embassy in Russia had been informed about the meeting in advance.
Ströbele, the bushy-browed veteran parliamentarian who represents Berlin's Kreuzberg district, reported that Snowden "could imagine coming to Germany, as long it was guaranteed that he could stay in Germany or a comparable country thereafter and stay safe there". He also noted the whistleblower's reservations about speaking to German representatives on Russian soil. Snowden has had his US passport revoked and is thus officially stateless – he was granted asylum in Russia but that expires in June.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/01/edward-snowden-nsa-testimony-germany-us-surveillance
