Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden on Thursday said he felt “vindicated” after receiving the 2014 Right Livelihood Award for blowing the whistle on mass surveillance.
Winning the prize “is a vindication, I think, not just for myself but for everyone who came before me to raise awareness about these issues,” Snowden said in a videotaped message.
The footage was published on video sharing site YouTube by the foundation that manages the award that is sometimes known as the alternative Nobel, but is not affiliated with the Nobel prizes.
The Right Livelihood award jury Wednesday lauded Snowden for “his courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance.”
He shared the 2014 honorary award with Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian newspaper that played a leading role in publishing the leaked material.
Snowden, who currently has asylum in Russia, is wanted by the US government on espionage charges for exposing extensive telephone and internet data-collection programmes used by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
Three other laureates each won 500,000 kronor (70,000 dollars) in recognition of work on human rights and combating climate change.
Snowden, meanwhile, has also been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The winner of the coveted award is due to be announced on October 10.
GNA
