Russia has censured the UK over forcing the Guardian daily to destroy materials leaked by American whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying the move is not in tune with the UK declarations on human rights.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement issued on Wednesday that Å“the measures taken by the British authorities towards the Guardian newspaper are out of tune with the British sideâ„¢s statements on commitments to universal standards of human rights.”
The statement came after the Guardian reported on August 20 that it had been forced by authorities in Britain to destroy material provided by the former contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA), Snowden.
London upset freedom of press and protection of privacy rules and violated the rights of journalists, Lukashevich added.
On Wednesday, Markus Loehning, the rights chief at the German Foreign Ministry, censured British authoritiesâ„¢ crackdown on the Guardian, saying, Å“The actions of the security services against the Guardian as described by editor-in-chief, Alan Rusbridger, deeply shocked me.”
Snowden, 30, leaked two top secret US government spying programs, under which the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
On June 9, Snowden admitted to his role in the leaks in a 12-minute video recorded interview published by the Guardian.
The 30-year-old NSA leaker is wanted in the United States, where he faces charges of Å“espionage” and Å“theft of government property.”
The United States revoked Snowdenâ„¢s passport, following his arrival in Russia from Hong Kong on June 23. He remained in the transit zone of Moscowâ„¢s Sheremetyevo Airport for more than one month before being granted asylum in Russia.
MR/HSN
Republished from: Press TV