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What pressure does a statement from the man himself apply to the US? I fail to see how this improves his situation one whit.

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It's a plea for public support. By raising Obama's profile as an oppressor, he hopes to turn public sentiment against the sitting government.

As someone else said, remaining silent lets his opposition control the discourse. You can see this clearly in the frenzy of stories in the media about Snowden's stripper girlfriend and the "IS HE A COMMIE SPY?" headlines. Providing a counterbalance makes it harder for the government propaganda machine to sway public opinion against him and turn him into Just Another Terrorist.

I don't think it reads like a plea for public support, if it was intended as such then it isn't worded well. It reads like a bunch of other wikileaks press releases that are generally political statements about the importance of transparency. The problem is that if he wants public sympathy he needs to avoid coming across as having political motives and if he does want to make accusations then he must consider the possibility that they will backfire and cost him public support.

A 'counterbalance' can often instead be a distraction which is what I fear happened here.

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