--- description: Group calls NSA whistleblower a "human rights defender" title: Edward Snowden Should Be Granted EU Asylum, Parliament Says image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17e86037cf6014a9/69886e855f570fdd4db1e0ff/snowden1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [europe](/tag/europe/) ## europe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # EU Parliament Wants Asylum for Edward Snowden ## Video: Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden [Watch (HLS stream): Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2013-12-11. TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year._ by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2015 6:22 PM CUT  HONG KONG - 2013: (EDITOR'S NOTE: ONLY AVAILABLE TO NEWS ORGANISATIONS AND NOT FOR ENTERTAINMENT USE) In this handout photo provided by The Guardian, Edward Snowden speaks during an interview in Hong Kong. Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA, revealed details of top-secret surveillance conducted by the United States' National Security Agency regarding telecom data. (Photo by The Guardian via Getty Images) HONG KONG - 2013: (EDITOR'S NOTE: ONLY AVAILABLE TO NEWS ORGANISATIONS AND NOT FOR ENTERTAINMENT USE) In this handout photo provided by The Guardian, Edward Snowden speaks during an interview in Hong Kong. Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA, revealed details of top-secret surveillance conducted by the United States' National Security Agency regarding telecom data. (Photo by The Guardian via Getty Images)Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 29, 2015 6:22 PM CUT The members of European Parliament have narrowly approved a resolution that asks the EU’s member states to grant asylum to Edward Snowden as a “[human rights defender](http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20151022IPR98818/html/Mass-surveillance-EU-citizens%27-rights-still-in-danger-says-Parliament "undefined").” The group voted 285 to 281 to ask European governments to drop all charges against the American whistleblower and prevent his extradition by third parties. Snowden is currently living in Russia, where he has been granted asylum into 2017\. The Parliamentary vote is non-binding. All EU member nations currently have extradition treaties with the U.S., meaning under current laws they’d have to send Snowden back to the U.S. if he came into their countries. But the vote signals that a significant contingent of Europeans believe Snowden’s leaking of top-secret documents that shed light on mass surveillance by the NSA was for the public good. Snowden called the vote a game-changer on Twitter. “This is not a blow against the US Government,” he [wrote](https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/659741716782686208 "undefined"), “but an open hand extended by friends. It is a chance to move forward.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4093070/eu-parliament-wants-asylum-for-edward-snowden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4093070/eu-parliament-wants-asylum-for-edward-snowden/"},"headline":"EU Parliament Wants Asylum for Edward Snowden","datePublished":"2015-10-29T18:22:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:12:11.005Z","description":"Group calls NSA whistleblower a \"human rights defender\"","url":"https://time.com/4093070/eu-parliament-wants-asylum-for-edward-snowden/","keywords":["europe","European Union","Edward Snowden","asylum","Parliament","Extradition","eu"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17e86037cf6014a9/69886e855f570fdd4db1e0ff/snowden1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17e86037cf6014a9/69886e855f570fdd4db1e0ff/snowden1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Edward Snowden Speaks To The Guardian","caption":"Edward Snowden Speaks To The Guardian","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/europe/","name":"europe"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4093070/eu-parliament-wants-asylum-for-edward-snowden/","name":"EU Parliament Wants Asylum for Edward Snowden"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Person of the Year 2013 Shortlist: Edward Snowden","description":"TIME's Michael Scherer explains why NSA leaker Edward Snowden is on the short list for the 2013 TIME Person of the Year.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cxBatp7g/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-11T12:42:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxBatp7g.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4093070/eu-parliament-wants-asylum-for-edward-snowden/","duration":"PT2M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4093070/eu-parliament-wants-asylum-for-edward-snowden/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```