Russia slams UK over Snowden issue

Russia has censured the UK over forcing the British Guardian daily to destroy material leaked by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying the move is not in tune with the UK declarations on human rights.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement issued on Wednesday that “the measures taken by the British authorities towards the Guardian newspaper are out of tune with the British side’s statements on commitments to universal standards of human rights.”

The statement came after the Guardian reported on August 20 that it had been forced by authorities in Britain to destroy material provided by Snowden, a former contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA).

London upset freedom of press and protection of privacy rules and violated the rights of journalists, Lukashevich added.

Snowden, 30, leaked two top secret US government spying programs, under which the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) eavesdrop on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

On June 9, Snowden admitted to his role in the leaks in a 12-minute video recorded interview published by the Guardian.

The 30-year-old NSA leaker is wanted in the United States, where he faces charges of “espionage” and “theft of government property.”

The United States revoked Snowden’s passport following his arrival in Russia from Hong Kong on June 23. He remained in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport for more than one month before being granted asylum in Russia.