Opposition positive towards granting asylum to Snowden
Edward Snowden currently lives in Russia but his residency permit there runs out next year. Photo/ AFP
All MP's from Bright Future, The Pirate Party and the Left Green Party think that granting asylum to Edward Snowden in Iceland is a possibility to consider.
Mbl.is sent a query to all MP's on the matter but not one single MP from the Progressive Party responded.
The question sent via email on September 14th was as follows: "Would you consider the possibility of granting asylum/residency/citizenship to Edward Snowden in Iceland?"
All those who did not respond were sent a second, and a third email. The question was responded to by all the MP's of the previously mentioned opposition parties, by four out of nine MP's of the Alliance Party, and seven out of nineteeen MP's of the Independence Party.
MP's from the Independence Party were not so positive about granting asylum to Snowden, with either flat-out "no's", maybe's, "would need more looking into," and MP Brynjar Níelsson wrote, "I am not interested in granting asylum to Edward Snowden or anyone else fleeing from justice."
In July 2013, a group of six MPs, including all three MPs from the Pirate Party, moved a parliamentary bill calling for the Icelandic Parliament (‘Alþingi’) to grant Snowden immediate Icelandic citizenship. Article 6 of the Icelandic Citizenship Act empowers Alþingi to grant citizenship to a given individual by means of a simple vote. The bill was rejected by Alþingi back in 2013.
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