Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 12 July

Breaking: HRW's Russia researcher, Tanya Lokshina, has been invited to meet Edward Snowden at the Moscow Airport. Snowden said that he plans to seek temporary asylum in Russia, then go somewhere in Latin America eventually. On a personal note he said living conditions at the airport were fine, and that he feels safe.  After the meeting, Snowden released a statement, in which he outlined the rationale for his actions. Edward Snowden’s disclosures about the massive surveillance of communications data by the United States and the United Kingdom point to a serious infringement on the right of privacy. Snowden, a former National Security Agency consultant, faces various charges in US federal court, some of which could carry lengthy prison sentences. The uproar following Snowden’s revelations shows the importance of exposing the scope and conduct of the US surveillance program to public view, and that should temper any government response, whatever else Snowden may yet disclose. The United States should protect people who use classified or other sensitive government information to expose what appear to be serious human rights violations and other government wrongdoing: HRW's statement