Futile for Snowden to expect fair trial

While Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks whistleblower, keeps his fingers crossed as a watchdog of the United Nations ruled his detention illegal, Edward Snowden too has offered himself for a trial. Speaking via Skype from Russia, Snowden told an audience of supporters in New Hampshire that he is willing to be extradited to the United States, if the federal government could guarantee him a fair trial. The US or its allies in Europe and Asia may not be interested. Assange has a rough road ahead of him, even if he is allowed by Britain to exit from his Ecuador embassy hideout and walk free. Cases against Assange in Washington and Stockholm will keep him on the edge for the rest of his life. So is the case with the US National Security Agency contractor, who could face a jail term of at least 30 years, if he returns to his home country from Russia.

Snowden, nonetheless, believes that he could speak out and get away with it The man responsible for the biggest leak of top secret intelligence files the world has ever seen, and which literally pitched the US in a battle with its friends and foes cannot expect any leniency from Washington. Fair trial or not, he appears doomed. Both the whistleblowers still believe that they took a high moral ground in letting the public know how personal information of individuals, as well as of world leaders, were monitored by powerful states. Snowden’s case is more complicated than Assange, as he stands trial for breach of oath and official secrecy, which portrays him as a traitor. It would be better if he cools his heels in Russia.