NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has called on President Donald Trump to free Julian Assange – putting the WikiLeaks founder's quest for pardon before his own.
'Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency during your time in office, please: free Julian Assange. You alone can save his life,' Snowden tweeted.
Snowden – who leaked classified documents on US surveillance programs, is residing in Moscow after Russia granted him temporary asylum.
Meanwhile, Assange is being held in custody by authorities in the United Kingdom awaiting a judge's ruling on his extradition to the US for alleged espionage and conspiracy to commit hacking. If convicted in the US, he could face a sentence of up to 175 years.
Assange has repeatedly threatened to commit suicide if extradited to the US – one reason why Snowden mentioned that a pardon from Trump would save Assange's life.
Last month, Assange's partner Stella Moris called on Trump to pardon the WikiLeaks founder, sharing a photo of their two young children to Twitter and writing, 'They need their father. Our family needs to be whole again.'
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