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Snowden Nominated for Freedom of Thought Prize
Блиф Кристен Николь
11/09/13
Members of the European Parliament are officially nominating fugitive US leaker Edward Snowden for a prize celebrating freedom of thought, a parliamentary representative said Wednesday.
Snowden is a candidate for the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, which honors people or organizations for their work in the defense of human rights and freedom of thought.
Christian Engstrom, a member of the Swedish Pirate Party who co-nominated Snowden for the award, wrote that Snowden is “paying a heavy personal price” for his “heroic” effort.
“The US government hunts him as an outlaw… Governments that dare to offer him asylum are threatened with dire consequences by the US government,” Engstrom wrote on his personal blog page. “In a painful irony, his only sanctuary is Russia, a country with democratic problems and authoritarian tendencies.”
Snowden, a computer specialist and former employee of the US National Security Agency (NSA), was the focus of international attention over the summer after he leaked classified evidence of US government surveillance programs to the media. He fled to Hong Kong and then to Moscow, where he was granted temporary asylum in Russia in late July despite repeated extradition demands from Washington.
Alexander Sidyakin, a lawmaker in the State Duma – the lower house of the Russian parliament – proposed nominating Snowden for a Nobel Peace Prize in July.
“Whistleblowers cannot be treated like criminals. They must have our protection,” the European Parliament’s European United Left/Nordic Green Left faction, which put forth Snowden as a candidate for the Sakharov Prize, said in a statement on its website back in June.
“Edward Snowden risked his life to confirm what we had long suspected regarding mass online surveillance, a major scandal of our times. He revealed details of violations of EU data protection law and fundamental rights.”
Laureates of the Sakharov Prize – whose past recipients include anti-apartheid revolutionary and former South African president Nelson Mandela, Chinese dissident Hu Jia, and Reporters Without Borders, a France-based NGO that advocates freedom of the press – receive 50,000 euros.
An official presentation of all the Sakharov Prize candidates will take place September 16. Parliament leaders will announce the winner in October, and the awards ceremony will take place in Strasbourg in December.
Le lanceur d’alerte Edward Snowden nominé pour le prix Sakharov Grève victorieuse des professeurs en Colombie Inde: peine de mort requise pour les auteurs d’un viol collectif
12/09/13
L'Humanité
La Gauche unitaire européenne/Gauche verte européenne nordique (GUE/NGL) du Parlement européen a désigné Edward Snowden pour le prix Sakharov. «Les lanceurs d’alerte ne peuvent pas être traités comme des criminels, ils doivent avoir notre protection. Edward Snowden a risqué sa vie pour révéler ce que nous soupçonnions depuis longtemps sur la surveillance des communications», déclarent les députés de la GUE/NGL.
Left-wing MEPs seek Sakharov prize for Snowden
EUOBSERVER
11/09/13
The EU parliament's Green group and leftist GUE/NGL group on Wednesday officially nominated US super-leaker Edward Snowden for the 2013 Sakharov Prize on human rights. “Whistleblowers cannot be treated like criminals, they must have our protection,” GUE/NGL said. Parliament's political group leaders will decide the 2013 winner in October.
http://euobserver.com/tickers/121391
Edward Snowden nominated for EU award
AFP
12/09/13
Green and left-wing lawmakers on Wednesday nominated US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden for the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize. Snowden, who has sought asylum in Russia, “deserves to be honoured for shedding light on the systematic infringements of civil liberties by US and European secret services,” leaders of the parliament’s Greens group Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Rebecca Harms said in a statement.
“Snowden has risked his freedom to help us protect ours,” they added.
The European United Left/Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament also nominated Snowden for the 2013 prize, saying “whistleblowers cannot be treated like criminals, they must have our protection.”
He “risked his life to confirm what we had long suspected regarding mass online surveillance, a major scandal of our times,” the group said.
The winner of the prize will be announced in October.
Last year’s award went to detained Iranians, lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film-maker Jafar Panahi, to honour those “standing up for a better Iran.”
Snowden named for EU's Sakharov prize by Greens, left MEPs
11/09/13
The Daily Star Lebanon
Green and left-wing lawmakers on Wednesday nominated US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden for the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize.
Snowden, who has sought asylum in Russia, “deserves to be honoured for shedding light on the systematic infringements of civil liberties by US and European secret services,” leaders of the parliament's Greens group Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Rebecca Harms said in a statement.
“Snowden has risked his freedom to help us protect ours,” they added.
The European United Left/Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament also nominated Snowden for the 2013 prize, saying “whistleblowers cannot be treated like criminals, they must have our protection.”
He “risked his life to confirm what we had long suspected regarding mass online surveillance, a major scandal of our times,” the group said.
The winner of the prize will be announced in October.
Last year's award went to detained Iranians, lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh and film-maker Jafar Panahi, to honour those “standing up for a better Iran.”
Past winners of the 50,000-euro ($65,000) prize include South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
Datagate: Sinistra Unita candida Snowden a premio Sakharov
ANSA
11/09/13
Il gruppo della Sinistra Unita (Gue) ha deciso di candidare Edward Snowden, l'ex agente della Nsa le cui rivelazioni hanno dato il via al Datagate, al premio Sakharov per la libertà di pensiero che ogni anno viene attribuito dal Parlamento europeo. “Le 'talpe' – è scritto in una nota del gruppo Gue – non possono essere trattate come criminali, noi dobbiamo proteggerli. Edward Snowden ha rischiato la vita per confermare quello che sospettavamo da tempo sulla sorveglianza online di massa ed ha rivelato dettagli sulle violazioni della legge europea sulla protezione dei dati e sui diritti fondamentali”.
La scelta dei candidati per il Sakharov 2013 sarà fatta nel mese di ottobre.
Parlement européen: Verts et gauche radicale pour attribuer le prix Sakharov à Snowden
BELGA
11/09/13
La gauche radicale et les Verts du Parlement européen ont proposé mercredi Edward Snowden, l’auteur des révélations sur la surveillance électronique mondiale effectuée par les Etats-Unis, comme prochain prix Sakharov, qui récompense des défenseurs des libertés dans le monde. Le groupe des Verts/ALE “vient de nommer le +dénonciateur+ Edward Snowden pour le Prix Sakharov 2013” en reconnaissance de “son rôle dans la mise en lumière des pratiques de surveillance de masse par les services secrets américains et européens”, a indiqué le groupe dans un communiqué.
“Edward Snowden a risqué sa liberté pour nous aider à protéger la nôtre et il mérite d’être honoré pour avoir fait la lumière sur les violations systématiques des libertés civiles par les services secrets américains et européens”, ont estimé les co-présidents du groupe, Daniel Cohn-Bendit et Rebecca Harms. “Au lieu de lui offrir l’asile dans l’UE, les gouvernements européens l’ont lâchement abandonné”, ont-ils ajouté à propos de Snowden, qui a été inculpé d’espionnage aux Etats-Unis et a trouvé refuge en Russie.
Le groupe de la Gauche unitaire, qui réunit notamment des communistes et des partis de la gauche radicale, a lui aussi proposé Edward Snowden pour le prix Sakharov. “Les lanceurs d’alerte ne peuvent pas être traités comme des criminels, ils doivent bénéficier de notre protection”, affirme le groupe. “Edward Snowden a risqué sa vie pour confirmer ce que nous suspections depuis longtemps sur une surveillance massive des communications électroniques, ce qui constitue un scandale majeur”.
Le Prix Sakharov est décerné chaque année depuis 1988 par le Parlement européen à des personnes ou à des organisations qui oeuvrent en faveur des droits de l’Homme et des libertés fondamentales. Chaque groupe politique du Parlement européen a le droit de faire une proposition pour ce prix. La décision finale sera prise au mois d’octobre par la Conférence des présidents.
Los Verdes e Izquierda Unitaria propondrán a Snowden para el premio Sájarov
11/09/13
EFE
El grupo de Los Verdes y el de Izquierda Unitaria en el Parlamento Europeo (PE) anunciaron hoy que propondrán al ex miembro de la CIA Edward Snowden para el premio Sájarov a la Libertad de Conciencia 2013, que cada año concede la Eurocámara.
“Los denunciantes no pueden ser tratados como criminales, deben tener nuestra protección”, afirmó Izquierda Unitaria en un comunicado. “Edward Snowden arriesgó su vida para confirmar lo que habíamos sospechado durante mucho tiempo sobre la vigilancia on line”, añadió y recordó que “reveló detalles de violaciones de la ley de protección de datos de la UE y de los derechos fundamentales”.
El grupo de Los Verdes, en el que está inscrito el eurodiputado español Raul Romeva (ICV), consideró hoy en su cuenta de Twitter que Snowden merece el galardón que cada año premia la labor de una figura que represente la lucha por la libertad. Snowden, quien recibió asilo temporal en Rusia, es el responsable de las filtraciones de la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional de EEUU (NSA) que reveló el espionaje estadounidense en otros países.
El resto de grupos políticos europeos todavía no han tomado una decisión final sobre cuál será su candidato al premio Sájarov que se entregará en la sesión plenaria de diciembre. El plazo de presentación de candidaturas terminará mañana a las 15.00 GMT y serán presentas el próximo 16 de septiembre formalmente en el PE. El año pasado el premio Sájarov recayó en dos luchadores por las libertades en Irán, Jafar Panahi y Nasrin Sotoudeh, que no pudieron recoger en persona el galardón por estar en prisión por orden del régimen de Mahmud Ahamadineyad.