WikiLeaks helping Snowden seek asylum

Assange said his organization has been talking to the whistle-blower's legal team about possible deal with Iceland

Published June 19, 2013 7:39PM (EDT)

On a press conference call Wednesday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told reporters that his organizations had been in contact with the legal team working with NSA whistle-blower Ed Snowden, attempting to broker a deal for asylum in Iceland. Assange, who refused to comment on whether he had personally had contact with Snowden, who remains in Hong Kong, told reporters: “We are in touch with Mr Snowden's legal team and have been, are involved, in the process of brokering his asylum in Iceland ... Our people in Iceland have been in contact with his legal team.”

While Icelandic parliamentarian and longtime WikiLeaks supporter Birgitta Jonsdottir has already expressed publicly her desire to aid Snowden with any asylum requests, the recent election of a conservative coalition in her country may obstruct such efforts.

Assange, himself marking the one-year anniversary of his stay at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, from where he is avoiding extradition to Sweden, commented, “I feel a great deal of personal sympathy with Mr. Snowden."


By Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Asylum Edward Snowden Iceland Julian Assange Nsa Whistle-blower Wikileaks