Elon Musk's Twitter poll on Assange, Snowden: 'not expressing an opinion, but…'
WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange is battling extradition from Britain to the United States as he is wanted by US authorities on 18 counts, including one under a spying act.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk on Sunday conducted a poll on the micro-blogging platform regarding the pardoning of whistleblowers Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, both wanted in US on criminal charges. Musk, in a Twitter poll, said he was not expressing an opinion on the matter and was asking the question because he had promised to conduct a poll.
“I am not expressing an opinion, but did promise to conduct this poll,” Musk wrote. “Should Assange and Snowden be pardoned?” he asked, with options of 'Yes' and 'No'.
WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange is battling extradition from Britain to the United States as he is wanted by US authorities on 18 counts, including one under a spying act. Assange, an Australian citizen, was behind the release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables which Washington said had put lives in danger.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he recently told Biden's administration to bring Assange's prosecution to a close.
“I have raised this personally with representatives of the United States government. My position is clear and has been made clear to the US administration: That it is time that this matter be brought to a close,” Albanese told Parliament.
“This is an Australian citizen," Albanese added. "I don't have sympathy for Mr Assange's actions on a whole range of matters, but...you have to reach a point whereby what is the point of...continuing this legal action which could be caught up now for many years into the future?”
Edward Snowden is a former US intelligence contractor who exposed the scale of secret surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden recently received a Russian passport and taken the citizenship oath, according Russian news agencies.
"I'm in Russia because the White House intentionally canceled my passport to trap me here. They downed the President of Bolivia's diplomatic aircraft to prevent me from leaving, and continue to interfere with my freedom of movement to this day," Snowden, 39, said on Twitter on Friday, referring to events from 2013.
