Yes, he did break the law but it is absurd for you to use the word 'justice'.
Justice: The quality of being fair and reasonable.
He's not running away from something which is 'fair or reasonable', his human rights are in grave danger.
He is a fugitive from injustice.
I do not care whether he is a hero or not, but I do care about whether it was a right thing to do and whether he is treated as a human should be treated. These are principles worth upholding.
> He's not running away from something which is 'fair or reasonable', his human rights are in grave danger.
How so? I mean this sincerely.
What do you think will happen to him when he is arrested? There's no brig to throw him in, as he's a civilian. Snowden was very concerned about the lack of judicial oversight in what he saw with PRISM, so why would he assume that very same judicial system would mark him for special treatment when people like Hanssen, the Walker gang, and even Aaron Hernandez have not received such?
If Snowden really felt beforehand that the civilian justice system was so completely inequitable it seems weird that he'd have been so insistent on its involvement elsewhere.
>> If Snowden really felt beforehand that the civilian justice system was so completely inequitable it seems weird that he'd have been so insistent on its involvement elsewhere.
The 'justice' system fulfils what power requires from it. It will be as inequitable with a trial as it has been with this whole fiasco.
>Then there was never a reason to involve the 'justice' system in surveillance measures at all, was there?
"...But Obama’s Justice Department, like Bush’s, has not been above an opportunistic (and occasionally downright Procrustean) reading of particular statutes to permit whatever it is that the White House wants to do."
Well... that was bad, but it was bad for different reasons. Mitnick himself waived his right to a speedy trial. The government swamped him and his court in so much shit that he'd have a difficult time preparing a proper defense otherwise.
The flipside for Snowden is that at least it will count as time served so if he gets sentenced to more than 2 years it might actually be beneficial as I'd imagine you get to meet with your lawyers more often while prepping for trial.
This, the US gov't has plenty of backdoors and sleazy dealings to circumvent a speedy trial by ones peers. It is why most criminal sentences aren't heard by juries, because the system is rigged and intentionally bullies the accused into taking plea bargains.
He is a fugitive from injustice.
I do not care whether he is a hero or not, but I do care about whether it was a right thing to do and whether he is treated as a human should be treated. These are principles worth upholding.