Brussels – Germany changed an intelligence-gathering law under pressure from the United States in a move that “eroded the rights of German citizens,” whistleblower Edward Snowden alleged in written testimony made public Friday.
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“Germany was pressured to modify its G-10 law to appease the NSA, and it eroded the rights of German citizens under their constitution,” Snowden wrote, referring to the US National Security Agency, in 12 pages of testimony provided to the European Parliament.
The G-10 law restricts privacy laws for correspondence, mail and telecommunications to allow intelligence agencies to operate.
Similar actions to pressure countries into changing their laws also occurred in Sweden, the Netherlands and New Zealand, he wrote.
“Each of these countries received instruction from the NSA, sometimes under the guise of the US Department of Defence and other bodies, on how to degrade the legal protections of their countries‘ communications,” Snowden wrote.
“The ultimate result of the NSA‘s guidance is that the right of ordinary citizens to be free from unwarranted interference is degraded and systems of intrusive mass surveillance are being constructed in secret within otherwise liberal states,” he said.
Snowden answered questions submitted by EU parliamentarians in writing after a live video transmission was turned down over security concerns. Parliament is carrying out an inquiry into US spying allegations, which have outraged privacy-conscious Europe.
“Without getting out of my chair, I could have read the private communications of any member of this committee as well as any ordinary citizen,” the former NSA contractor wrote to the parliament‘s civil liberties committee.
“Spying serves a vital purpose and must continue, … [but] mass surveillance violates our rights, risks our safety and threatens our way of life,” he said.
Snowden is wanted by the US on espionage charges linked to his revelations of wide-scale electronic surveillance programmes. He has been granted asylum in Russia but has denied he has any “relationship” with its government.
He wrote that he has sought asylum in several EU countries but has yet to receive a positive response. He said national parliamentarians have told him that the US “‘will not allow‘ EU partners to offer political asylum to me.”