Brazilian senators have asked for Edward Snowden’s help during hearings about the NSA’s aggressive targeting of the country.
Edward Snowden has offered to help Brazil investigate US spying on its soil in exchange for political asylum, in an open letter from the NSA whistleblower to the Brazilian people published by the Folha de S Paulo newspaper.
“I’ve expressed my willingness to assist where it’s appropriate and legal, but, unfortunately, the US government has been working hard to limit my ability to do so,” Snowden said in the letter.
“Until a country grants me permanent political asylum, the US government will continue to interfere with my ability to speak out,” he said.
Snowden – currently living in Russia, where he has been granted a year’s asylum until next summer – said he had been impressed by the Brazilian government’s strong criticism of the NSA spy programme targeting internet and telecommunications worldwide, including monitoring the mobile phone of the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff.
Revelations of US spying have stirred outrage in Brazil. Leaked documents have shown that the NSA spied on Rousseff’s emails and phone calls, tapped the communications of Brazil’s biggest oil company, Petrobras, and monitored those of millions of citizens.
Also in his letter, Snowden used Brazilian examples to explain the extent of the US surveillance he had revealed. “Today, if you carry a cellphone in São Paulo, the NSA can track where you are, and it does – it does so 5bn times a day worldwide.
“When a person in Florianópolis visits a website, the NSA keeps track of when it happened and what they did on that site. If a mother in Porto Alegre calls her son to wish him luck with his exam, the NSA can save the data for five years or longer. The agency can keep records of who has an affair or visits porn sites, in case it needs to damage the reputations of its targets.”
He added: “Six months ago, I revealed that the NSA wanted to listen to the whole world. Now the whole world is listening, and also talking back. And the NSA does not like what it is hearing.”