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The minister said she “would not be surprised” if France offered the whistleblowers asylum, as revelations show the U.S. targeted three French presidents
The French justice minister Christiane Taubira hinted Thursday at the possibility that France could offer asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and to United States National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden.
"If France decides to offer asylum to Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, I wouldn't be surprised. It's a possibility," French news channel BFMTV reported.
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French justice minister: It's possible asylum will be offered to #Snowden, #Assange http://t.co/mAK1JvdmDi More: https://t.co/2uDNjxwqJR
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks)
June 25, 201
When asked about the NSA’s sweeping surveillance of three French presidents, revealed by WikiLeaks this week, Taubira called it an “unspeakable practice.”
WikiLeaks revealed Wednesday that U.S. intelligence spied on three French Presidents between 2006 and 2012. In response, the French government summoned the U.S. ambassador to explain allegations by the whistleblower website that the U.S. National Security Agency spied on Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and current president Francois Hollande.
Hollande called the disclosure “unacceptable” and said Paris would not tolerate actions that threaten its security.
RELEASE: Espionnage Élysée - how the NSA bugged Hollande, Sarkozy and Chirac https://t.co/uflJlxeJdO pic.twitter.com/k8hDycaxNV
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks)
June 23, 201
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Taubira said in the interview that she did not herself have the power to offer asylum to the whistleblowers, but said that such a decision would be up to the president, the prime minister and the foreign minister.
Assange has been in the Ecuadorean embassy for the past three years. He is avoiding being extradited to Sweden to face a rape charge. Snowden, who faces criminal espionage charges in the U.S, has been stranded in Moscow with temporary asylum as he awaits responses on asylum from two dozen countries.
Taubira comments on Thursday highlight a growing sentiment in the country in favor of giving Assange and Snowden asylum. A leftist newspaper in France said in an editorial that giving the whistleblowers asylum in France would be a response to the “contempt” the U.S. has for its allies.
France would send "a clear and useful message to Washington, by granting this bold whistleblower the asylum to which he is entitled," Liberation editor Laurent Joffrin wrote.
RELATED: After Three Years, the Injustice Handed out to Assange Must End
