Glenn Greenwald (R), American journalist who first published the documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, speaks with partner David Miranda as Greenwald testifies in front of the Brazilian Federal Senate’s Parliamentary Inquiry Committee, established to investigate allegations of spying by United States on Brazil, in Brasilia October 9, 2013 (Reuters / Ueslei Marcelino)

Thanks to Golden Age of Gaia.

From RT.com – October 10, 2013

http://rt.com/news/brazil-snowden-leaks-greenwald-959/

Brazilian lawmakers indicated that, in lieu of direct teleconferences with Edward Snowden to gain further insight into allegations of NSA spying in their country, they may seek to seize documents now held by American journalist Glenn Greenwald.

On Wednesday Greenwald spoke to Brazilian senators currently investigating evidence of US as well as British and Canadian espionage in the Latin American country.

The legislators are part of a probe into potential foreign surveillance — the Comissão Parlamentar de Inquérito, or CPI — called into action by President Dilma Rousseff in the wake of initial news reports alleging that even the president’s online communication had been intercepted.

Greenwald, who appeared along with his partner David Miranda, a Brazilian national, broached several topics during the hearing, including the possibility of granting asylum to NSA contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden.

So far, Brazil has been vague as to whether it would seriously consider extending Snowden, who is currently residing in Russia, an offer of political asylum.

“There are many nations saying, ‘We’re glad to be learning all this information,’ but almost nobody wants to protect the person responsible for letting the world discover it,” Greenwald told the panel.

In the meantime, Brazilian legislators seem eager to find out the extent of foreign surveillance on the country in greater detail.

To that end, the country’s government — specifically, the CPI inquiry — is now seeking to establish teleconferencing sessions with Snowden.

Asked by the commission to turn over documents obtained through the whistleblower Greenwald refused, citing the need for a separation between journalism and government. His partner, Miranda, also cited that divulging the documents would constitute an “act of treason” and prevent Greenwald from entering the US again.

One Brazilian Senator, Ricardo Ferraço, went so far as to suggest that the government commission seek the authority of the country’s courts to seize documents now held by Greenwald if such communication with Snowden proved unfeasible.

Unlike allegations of NSA surveillance in the US, coverage of the agency’s activities in Brazil have taken on a broader scope, and in particular centered on the country’s economy.

Greenwald himself has shaped the narrative of Snowden’s disclosures through his testimony to Brazil’s government, as well as his work with the O Globo newspaper and Rede Globo’s news television.

In August, the journalist told Brazil’s government that alleged American espionage in Brazil was centered on gaining economic advantages rather than on any national security concerns.

“We now have several denunciations that show that the spy program is not about terrorism. It is about increasing the power of the American government,” Greenwald told senators on Wednesday, speaking in Portuguese.

In the most recent report last Sunday, Greenwald said on Globo network television that Canadian spies had targeted Brazil’s Mines and Energy Ministry, intercepting the metadata of phone calls and emails passing through the ministry.

The impact of the steady stream of surveillance allegations on Brazil has been swift. Last month Petrobras announced that it would be investing $9.5 billion over the next five years to heighten its data security.

Meanwhile, Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo announced that the country’s government was pursuing legislation requiring domestic data exchanges to use locally made equipment.

Lon Snowden (right), the father of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, at Sheremetyevo airport, with lawyer Anatoly Kucherena. Photograph: AFP/Getty

Edward Snowden’s Father Arrives in Russia

By Shaun Walker in Moscow, The Guardian – October 10, 2013

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/10/edward-snowden-father-arrives-russia-moscow

Edward Snowden’s father landed in Moscow on Thursday morning and said he hoped to visit his son, who has not been seen in public since he was granted asylum in Russia in August.

The former NSA contractor, who leaked information about US surveillance programmes to the Guardian, was given the right to remain in Russia for a year after spending five weeks in limbo at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport over the summer.

Lon Snowden arrived at the same airport early on Thursday morning and was escorted through the VIP terminal by Anatoly Kucherena, his son’s lawyer. Kucherena has been the only channel to Snowden since the 30-year-old whistleblower left the airport, and has refused to give any details about his location, citing security concerns. Snowden is wanted in the US on espionage charges.

“I am his father, I love my son and … I certainly hope I will have an opportunity to see my son,” said Lon Snowden in brief remarks to Russian television crews at the airport. “I am not sure my son will be returning to the US again,” he said.

Edward Snowden arrived in Moscow on a flight from Hong Kong in June and apparently intended to board an onward flight bound for Latin America. However, US authorities cancelled his passport and he remained stuck at the airport for five weeks, before Russia granted him political asylum.

On Thursday, Lon Snowden spoke of his “extreme gratitude that my son is safe and secure and he’s free”, words that were run repeatedly during the morning on Russian news channels.

President Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB spy, does not have much sympathy for whistleblowers and has described Snowden as “a strange guy”, but said that Russia had no choice but to offer him asylum.

Before Snowden was given asylum, Putin said that Russia would offer it only on the condition that the whistleblower stopped his leaks. Lon Snowden said on Thursday he understood his son had not been involved in the publication of new information since his arrival in Russia and is “simply trying to remain healthy and safe”.

Some have suggested it is likely that Snowden is being held under guard of the FSB, Russia’s security service, but the Russians have insisted that they have neither received, nor attempted to extract, any of Snowden’s secrets.

Kucherena has previously said that Snowden does have security, but declined to say whether it is provided by the Russian state or a private firm. He said that Snowden has been able to travel around Russia without being recognised and is busy reading books about the country’s history and learning the language.

The website Life News, which has close links to the Russian security services, published what it claimed was the first photo of Edward Snowden in Russia earlier this week, which showed a man resembling the former NSA contractor wheeling a supermarket trolley piled with plastic bags of shopping. There has been no confirmation that the photograph is genuine.

Kucherena said that Lon Snowden planned to hold a press conference “soon”, and added that other members of the Snowden family plan to visit Moscow in the near future.