Could It Be Snowden in Iceland this Summer?
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The Guardian via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Has Iceland warmed up to the idea of having former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden living there permanently?
Snowden, who is still stuck in the transit area of a Moscow airport, was given a glimmer of hope in his international quest for asylum Thursday when a member of the Icelandic parliament offered a proposal of making Snowden a resident of the country.
By doing so, it would mean that the 30-year-old American accused of espionage for leaking intelligence about secret U.S. intelligence programs wouldn’t have to set foot inside Iceland before being granted asylum.
Iceland’s liberal Left-Green Party, the Pirate Party and the Brighter Future Party all back the plan, which was laid out before Parliament’s Judicial Affairs Committee.
However, it seems like a long shot at best.
For one thing, the lawmakers broke for summer recess on Friday, meaning it can’t be taken up until they reconvene in the fall.
Furthermore, Iceland’s ruling Conservative and Moderate parties are cool to the idea of making the leaker a citizen while President Olafur Ragnar Grímsson would probably get a stern lecture from the U.S. State Department about giving Snowden asylum.
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