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Assange to help NSA whistleblower seek asylum in Iceland

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ANI London

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reportedly decided to help NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in seeking asylum in Iceland.

According to the Independent, Assange is in the process of brokering a deal with the government of Iceland amidst fear of Snowden's possible extradition from Hong Kong to US.

Snowden leaked US NSA's sensitive data about its 'snooping programme' which was aimed at collecting citizens' data related to web activities and phone records.

According to the report, Snowden had earlier said that by declaring him a 'traitor' US has destroyed any possibility of having a 'fair trial' back home.

Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy for almost a year said that his team is in touch with Snowden's legal team in order to broker a deal which would see him brought to safety.

 

However, the Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson holds the stand that despite the fact that 'informal requests' have been made by WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson on behalf of Snowden, the NSA whistleblower must be physically present to claim it, the report added.

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First Published: Jun 21 2013 | 11:01 AM IST

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