Today the Folha de Sao Paulo, the Brazilian equivalent of The New York Times, released an open letter from Edward Snowden to the people of Brazil.
In his letter, the intent of which is to lay the groundwork for asylum, Snowden made the following claims:
Today, if you carry a cell phone in Sao Paolo, the NSA can and does keep track of your location: they do this 5 billion times a day to people around the world.
When someone in Florianopolis visits a website, the NSA keeps a record of when it happened and what you did there. If a mother in Porto Alegre calls her son to wish him luck on his university exam, NSA can keep that call log for five years or more.
They even keep track of who is having an affair or looking at pornography, in case they need to damage their target’s reputation.
He also reminded a people who, until 1985, lived under a military dictatorship ?and that only recently won freedoms that are now being stolen:
There is a huge difference between legal programs, legitimate spying, legitimate law enforcement –where individuals are targeted based on a reasonable, individualized suspicion – and these programs of dragnet mass surveillance that put entire populations under an all-seeing eye and save copies forever.
Edward then subtly asks for asylum:
Many Brazilian senators agree, and have asked for my assistance with their investigations of suspected crimes against Brazilian citizens.
I have expressed my willingness to assist wherever appropriate and lawful, but unfortunately the United States government has worked very hard to limit my ability to do so –going so far as to force down the Presidential Plane of Evo Morales to prevent me from traveling to Latin America!
Until a country grants permanent political asylum, the US government will continue to interfere with my ability to speak.
He correctly pointed out Brazil’s taking a lead on the issue:
Only three weeks ago, Brazil led the United Nations Human Rights Committee to recognize for the first time in history that privacy does not stop where the digital network starts, and that the mass surveillance of innocents is a violation of human rights.
And then closed his letter echoing the feelings and memories of those Brazilians from the late 1980’s who suffered for exposing Brazilian corruption and who led the way to the more open Democratic system they have ?today:
Days later, I was told my government had made me stateless and wanted to imprison me. The price for my speech was my passport, but I would pay it again: I will not be the one to ignore criminality for the sake of political comfort. I would rather be without a state than without a voice.
If Brazil hears only one thing from me, let it be this: when all of us band together against injustices and in defense of privacy and basic human rights, we can defend ourselves from even the most powerful systems.
It is my hope that Brazil grants Edward Snowden political asylum. It is worth noting that only an estimated 1% of the documents he took from the NSA have been released. Those documents shook the world. Perhaps it is time to release a few more?
Edited/Published by: SB
