German President Joachim Gauck has given a message of support to US whistleblower Edward Snowden saying he deserves respect for defending freedom.
Gauckâ„¢s remarks came on Friday during an interview with German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse.
“Whoever brings [information] to the public and acts on grounds of conscience deserves respect,” said Gauck.
The president also said since Snowdenâ„¢s revelations on US spying operations in June, he has been deeply troubled and wondered if it was safe to send emails and talk openly on the phone.
“To be honest with you, I’ve also thought about whether I can still talk on the phone or send an email openly at all,” said Gauck, adding, Å“The fear that our telephone calls or emails will be intercepted and stored by foreign secret services limits our feeling of being free.”
Gauck has demanded Angela Merkelâ„¢s government to enter binding agreements with its allies to secure freedom of privacy.
Å“We have to make sure that even our allies’ secret services respect the boundaries we find necessary here,” said the president.
A binding international agreement Å“should be created urgently to safeguard civil rights,” Guack added.
Meanwhile, Merkel and her ministers continue to claim they were first informed about the US spying programs from press reports despite a report published on July 22 by German weekly Der Spiegel, which revealed that German intelligence services themselves used one of US National Security Agencyâ„¢s most valuable spying programs.
In June, Snowden, an American former technical contractor for the NSA and a former employee of the CIA, leaked documents showing the US spied on the European Union and monitored up to a half-billion German telephone calls and internet activities each month.
CAH/SS
Republished from: Press TV