Asylum

Russia: We’d Consider Sheltering Snowden

Iceland is less eager.

Russia may imprison their own whistleblowers and protesters, but they’ll welcome American ones with open arms. After a spokesman for Vladimir Putin said that they would consider an asylum request from Edward Snowden, Russian politicians are praising the idea. “In this case, Snowden, like Assange, is a human-rights activist,” said Alexey Pushkov, head of the Duma’s international affairs committee. In 2010 the Kremlin suggested Julian Assange should be nominated for a Nobel prize, and later gave him a talk show on the state-sponsored television network. Meanwhile Iceland, which seems to be Snowden’s country of choice, is reacting more coolly to the idea of granting asylum, stating that Snowden would have to apply from within the country’s borders, not from an embassy.