US whistleblower Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

July 18: A Swedish professor has recommended NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Stefan Svallfors, professor of sociology at Umea University has sent a letter to the Norwegian Nobel committee stating that for his (Snowden) 'heroic effort at great personal cost' shedding light on the expansive cyber-spying conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency.

Because of his bravery, Snowden 'helped to make the world a little bit better and safer,' Svallfors wrote.

Though Snowden is eligible for nomination for the December 2014 prize, it's unlikely he'd be able to travel to Oslo for the award ceremony.

Snowden applied for asylum in Norway on July 2, but the country then planned to reject it according to their national law.

'According to Norwegian law, one can't seek asylum abroad and the normal procedures stipulate that the asylum application from Edward Snowden will be rejected,' Paal Loenseth, Northwegian state secretary said.

If Snowden is awarded the prize in 2014, he would be the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate in the history of the prize.

OneIndia News

(with agency inputs)