MINSK, July 1 (RAPSI) - The Belarusian Party "The Greens" has appealed to President Alexander Lukashenko to grant political asylum to Edward Snowden, who is being sought by the United States after leaking classified documents on the activities of US intelligence agencies, the party's press office said on Monday.
The Belarusian Party "The Greens" is an Eco-socialist political party in Belarus which opposes the administration of president Alexander Lukashenko. It was created in 1994. The party has anti-corporatist, almost anti-globalist rhetoric.
"On behalf of the Belarusian Party "The Greens" , we appeal to the head of state to promptly consider the possibility of granting political asylum to Snowden, who is hiding from US prosecution," the statement says.
According to the Belarusian Greens, granting political asylum to Snowden will be "an act of sincere support for an upright and honest man and evidence of the fact that Belarus's foreign policy is based on moral principles."
The party believes such a decision would "also help strengthen Belarus's prestige among the world's progressive people."
The statement also says that "such a great professional in this field as Edward Snowden could help create the necessary defense mechanism to prevent foreign intelligence services from interfering in the private lives of Belarusians."
National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Snowden has dominated international headlines this month after claiming responsibility for leaking top-secret documents to The Guardian, detailing the capacity of the NSA to access the systems of major US companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple.
Google, Facebook, and Apple have all denied providing direct or backdoor access to their servers.
After the initial leak, Snowden went on to expose various other types of intelligence, including claims to The Guardian that the NSA had intercepted communications from Medvedev's delegation during the 2009 G20 summit in London, as well as claims during an interview with the South China Morning Post that the United States had been hacking into Chinese computers for years.
On June 14, the US authorities filed a criminal complaint advancing three charges, each carrying a punishment of up to 10 years in prison. Snowden has been charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and the willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person, according to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors.
Edward Snowden is reportedly holed up in the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.