

Politician: Call Snowden to Germany as witness - NonEUCitizen
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20130704-50697.html

======
alan_cx
Don't know how separated the German judiciary is from its government, which
seems contradictory on its position, but for Snowden to accept some sort of
German judicial protection would be on hell of a gamble. Could be a great
solution, but could also result in a one way ticket to the US. At least
Germany has a reasonable and comparatively open political and legal system,
which doesn't rely on politics and cash in the bank.

On the face of it, if the Germans did go this way, in the way suggested, I
think I'd take it. But Im willing to bet nothing is quite that simple, or
likely.

~~~
9h1d9j809s
It's a gamble no matter what he does.

Of all Western countries, this is probably the best choice he can make.

~~~
contingencies
New Zealand would have been a fair option, they have pretty anti-US sentiment
historically and that has been recently fanned by the MAFIAA's raid on Mr.
Dotcom's house.

~~~
mainevent
They also have a very cozy intelligence relationship with the US government
and, along with the UK, Canada and Australia, are in fact classed as a "2nd
party partner" by the United States. [1]

[1] [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/secret-
documents-n...](http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/secret-documents-
nsa-targeted-germany-and-eu-buildings-a-908609.html)

~~~
ra
Agreed. NZ is one of the five eyes and relies quite heavily on the ANZUS
treaty for defence.

In Snowdons case I'd avoid NZ - even if it was possible to get there without
flying through psuedo-US controlled airspace.

------
temp5207
Sure, let's grant him a safe passage to our jurisdiction so he could testify
in a trial.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hus)

~~~
9h1d9j809s
Very funny. That was in 1414 in the Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nation).
How is this related to the Federal Republic of Germany in 2013?

~~~
digitalengineer
We've come a long way since 1414:

"After a few weeks, his opponents succeeded in imprisoning him, on the
strength of a rumor that he intended to flee".

"...the person who promised 'save passage'.. was told that he could not be
bound by promises to a heretic"

"Hus was not allowed an advocate for his defense"

"..he remained [in the dungeon] for 73 days, separated from his friends,
chained day and night, poorly fed, and ill."

(Edit: and he was burned at the stake).

------
donretag
Speaking of courts, I have been wondering about another legal angle. What
happens to someone that commits a crime in the transit area? What would happen
if Snowden punched someone? Would they be escorted out of the transit area or
do transit areas have detention centers for criminals (crimes against the
local laws)? Can they be tried in court and imprisoned? Can someone commit a
misdemeanor, got to jail for a small amount of time, and then be escorted to
the border?

------
w_t_payne
Don't know about Germany, but in the UK the government gets it's backside
whupped by the legal system on a regular basis.

------
wwhitman
"Please step into the courtroom Mr. Snowden."

"That's an airplane."

"Yeah"

