The US government demands that whistleblower Edward Snowden be arrested immediately and extradited to the States, should he show up in Iceland. This was made clear in a letter Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs received from US authorities some days ago, Vísir.is reports.
“I feel this is an example of how US authorities have completely lost the plot,” Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Pirate Party MP and WikiLeaks affiliate, told Vísir. “It is obvious to me that this letter, sent in advance, is what had an effect on those in Parliament who voted against discussing the Snowden case.”
Birgitta was referring to the proposal put forth by her and five other MPs, to grant Snowden citizenship in Iceland. But the majority of Parliament voted against the proposal to be added to the agenda before the parliamentarians broke for their summer holidays.
“It’s not like we were asking the MPs to decide for or against his citizenship, but just to allow the matter to be discussed in committee so we could work on preparations before Parliament reassembles on 10 September.”
Birgitta insists that the reactions of Icelandic authorities should be clear.
“Firstly, when we receive such a request, we should always inform the public about it. Secondly, we should return it to the sender because this is simply a threat in disguised.”
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