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Comment by regnull | Hacker News Reader

He didn't have to escape to Russia with a bunch of laptops filled with classified documents, the majority of which he's never made public. If he cares so much about exposing the US government, he should stand up for his beliefs. Yes, it might mean arrest and prison. If he's not ready for this, he shouldn't get involved. Your convictions mean nothing if you are not ready suffer for them.

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It is not cool to suggest someone goes to jail for many years to prove something while you will be enjoying an online conversation in safety.

It would likely also be a death sentence, like with Navalny in Russia.

> If he cares so much about exposing the US government, he should stand up for his beliefs.

You should read what Daniel Ellsberg had to say about Snowden's decision to flee the country. Things have changed dramatically since Vietnam:

<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/30/daniel...>

> He didn't have to escape to Russia...

The intent was never to stay in Russia. Snowden's passport was revoked by the US State Department while he was in transit from Hong Kong to -IIRC- Ecuador. His trip had him stop in Russia, which would not let him leave because his passport was no longer valid.

<https://apnews.com/article/82f87def2ddc4abfba271420f4e81ddf>

Actually he did, once the NSA prevented him from fleeing to where he was hoping to have political asylum and trapped him in Russia.

He didn't have to escape to Russia with a bunch of laptops filled with classified documents,

Snowden says gave everything he had to the journalists he met with in HK, and destroyed all copies in his possession before attempting to transit through Moscow.

If your belief is that he did otherwise -- you'll have to explain how you "know" this to be the case.

I suppose it’s my belief that he gave everything he got to FSB vs your belief that he’s telling the truth and he didn’t. I base my belief on the first hand knowledge of how Russia works, and the fact that it held all the cards and Snowden held none once he stepped on Russia’s soil - and probably before.

Okay, speculation then.

BTW I never said that I believed he was telling the truth.

But that's very different from pretending to simply "know" that he wasn't.

> If he cares so much about exposing the US government, he should stand up for his beliefs

He did, and took a path that allowed him not to be disappeared, suddenly become suicidal or fatally ill with weird symptoms.

It might've been a big mistake on his side, not understanding what kind of country Russia was. I think a lot of Americans don't understand how different it is in autocratic countries. They complain about the lack of free speech in the US, without understanding what this actually means.

As I understand, he is not under arrest in Russia; he now has a citizenship and (probably) can travel without US being able to cancel his Russian passport.

Yes, he's not under arrest right now, probably. But this can change any minute if he comes close to a border or an airport.

He didn't "escape to Russia", this is a very disingenuous, and plain wrong to say. It's ridiculous having to explain this after 11 years on HN, which is supposed to be a techie place for intelligent people.

Either you've been hugely mislead by anti Snowden people, or you are willfully ignorant, or worse.

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