Brazil: Snowden Asylum Not Being Discussed

Without an official request, the country cannot even consider the move

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The Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff speaks at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 24, 2013 in New York City

Brazil says that it is not even considering granting asylum to Edward Snowden even after he offered to help the country investigate the extent to which the NSA has spied on the Brazilian President. The Brazilian government says it hasn’t received any official request from Snowden since he arrived in Moscow in June, Reuters reports. Snowden would need to make a formal request, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Snowden offered to help the Brazilian government investigate the NSA Internet surveillance program in an open letter in a Brazilian newspaper Tuesday. The revelation of NSA spying on Brazil led President Dilma Rousseff to cancel a visit to Washington in October. Snowden, seizing an opportunity, has been campaigning through social media to offer his help in Brazil. Snowden’s temporary asylum in Russia expires in August.

[Reuters]