Snowden Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Published on Monday, July 15, 2013 by Common Dreams

Swedish professor nominates whistleblower for heroically revealing extent of U.S. government surveillance

- Andrea Germanos, staff writer

Edward Snowden has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his "heroic effort" in revealing the extent of the U.S. government's vast surveillance programs. (Photo: campact/cc/flickr)A Swedish professor has nominated NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize for revealing the extent of the NSA's vast surveillance program "in a heroic effort at great personal cost."
In his letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Stefan Svallfors, a professor of sociology at Sweden's Umeå University, added that awarding the prize to Snowden would "also help to save the Nobel Peace Prize from the disrepute that incurred by the hasty and ill-conceived decision to award U.S. President Barack Obama 2009 award."
In revealing the extent of the NSA's extensive spying, "conducted in contravention of national laws and international agreements," Snowden "has helped to make the world a little better and safer," the professor writes.  He "has also shown that individuals can stand up for fundamental rights and freedoms."
Svallfors tweeted a copy of the letter for the Nobel committee on Saturday, and a translation of his letter to the Nobel committee was published online by the UK's Daily Mail and RT on Monday.