Former U.S. intelligence technician Edward Snowden, who made public the scandalous surveillance of European citizens by the US National Security Agency (NSA) via its PRISM monitoring programme, must be protected as he is at serious risk of ill-treatment if extradited to the USA, say GUE/NGL MEPs.

Whistleblowers cannot be treated like criminals, they must have our protection. Edward Snowden risked his life to confirm what we had long suspected regarding mass online surveillance, a major scandal of our times. He revealed details of violations of EU data protection law and fundamental rights by a third country, and he therefore deserves European protection.

The GUE/NGL group calls on EU leaders at their Summit on 27 and 28 June in Brussels to make clear to US authorities the absolute unacceptability of such surveillance programmes and the anger of EU internet users and citizens in general over the criminalisation of Snowden.