Post date: Jul 27, 2013 5:41:18 PM
Several thousand people gather at demonstrations across Germany to protest against the U.S. surveillance operation known as Prism.
BERLIN, GERMANY (JULY 27, 2013) (REUTERS) - Several thousand people took part in demonstrations across Germany on Saturday (July 27), in protest at the U.S. government's use of surveillance programmes.
Last month, the United States confirmed the existence of an operation codenamed Prism after ex-spy agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that it mines data from users of Google, Facebook, Skype and other U.S. companies.In the capital Berlin at least 1,000 people gathered in the district of Kreuzberg from where they were to march through the city.
They held a large banner reading "Protect Edward Snowden - Free Bradley Manning" and called on the German government to help Snowden, who faces espionage charges for releasing the classified information.
Snowden's supporters have worried he could face the same fate as Private First Class Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier on trial for providing documents to WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy group.
On his arrest, Manning was placed in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day with guards checking on him every few minutes.
"We are demonstrating against Prism and Tempora and solidarity with whistleblowers like Edward Snowden or Bradley Manning and we want that they become free and they will be protected by our government," said protest organiser Steffen Aumueller.
"We push the German government to give asylum to Mr Snowden in Germany and not in Russiabecause Mr Snowden has fought for human rights and this is a reason to get asylum in a democratic country like Germany," said Ronald Brauckmann, a member of the so-called Union of Association for the Victims of Communist Violence or UOKG.
Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, has been holed up at a Moscow airport for three weeks trying to avoid prosecution. This week, he sought temporary asylum inRussia.
Russia has refused to extradite Snowden, who leaked details of a secret U.S. surveillance programme including phone and Internet data, and is now considering his request for a temporary asylum.
In a letter dated Tuesday July 23 and released on Friday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder wrote that he sought to dispel claims about what would happen to Snowden if he is sent home.
In Germany's financial capital Frankfurt, police estimated around 600 people took part in a march and rally.
Demonstrators could be seen heckling a local politician, the deputy prime minister of the state of Hesse who was speaking to protesters from the stage.
"I am here because I was very moved by the thing with Edward Snowden and I think it is just wrong how he was treated. That's why I'm here, because of Edward Snowden and everything to do with surveillance and want to make a statement against it," said demonstrator Gabor Friedrich.
On Thursday (July 25), German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff insisted German intelligence agencies fully upheld German law, seeking to limit the damage after allegations German spies were in cahoots with U.S. agents and knew of their mass surveillance.
Media reports of the United States National Security Agency's electronic spying operation have angered Germans and put Merkel and her officials on the defensive when pressed to explain what, if anything, they knew and how they intend to call Washington to account.
The row comes just two months before a federal election, and could yet dent support for Merkel who is running high in the polls with ratings for her Christian Democrats (CDU) of over 40 percent.