18 Dec 2013

Snowden to seek political asylum in Brazil

9:10 am on 18 December 2013

The United States intelligence-leaker Edward Snowden is reportedly planning to seek political asylum in Brazil in exchange for helping investigate American spying on the country.

In an open letter to a Sao Paolo newspaper, Mr Snowden, who has temporary asylum in Russia, said that until he obtains permanent asylum, the US government will continue to interfere with his ability to speak out.

Mr Snowden also praises Brazil's fierce reaction to news it was among the countries the NSA spied on, the BBC reports.

The Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, was among the targets of the US surveillance, via her mobile phone, as was the state oil company Petrobras.

On Tuesday, a judge in the United States ruled the NSA's mass collection of telephone data unconstitutional.

Federal District Judge Richard Leon said the electronic spy agency's practice was an "arbitrary invasion".

The White House, meanwhile, dismissed a suggestion by a senior NSA official that Mr Snowden receive amnesty if he stopped leaking documents.