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Comment by martin_a | Hacker News Reader

I think this is the most important part of this whole story. They (as in "the US government") will get you _anywhere_ and destroy your life if they think it's the right thing to do. And you can't expect any other government to stand in their way (except for those you probably don't want to interact with).

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Not anywhere, Snowden managed to evade them.

I haven't heard anything about him in a while, I assume he's still living in exile in Russia? In which case, yes, he might have evaded the US, but he still gave up a lot of his freedom in return.

Physically, yes. But his life was unlawfully destroyed and his choices are narrowed down to an ideologically hostile territory that'll keep him alive, and a hostile territory that will torture him to death if he ever leaves the former.

At a high price, though. Contrary to how this is sometimes portrayed to discredit it him, Snowden never intended to end up in Russia, and now he's forced to collaborate with a regime he undoubtedly despises. And he can never leave again.

Dissidents always get mud slung at them. The only really surprising thing is that the people who receptive to the mudslinging are oblivious to how they are being manipulated.

It's the same with an average dim Russian's opinion on Navalny as it is with an average dim American's opinion on Snowden and Assange.

And he's ended up being a pawn, a pawn currently not being used, but I can't imagine it's relaxing to live in a country where any moment the security services can take him and say "Mr. Putin has decided to extradite you to the US in exchange for...".

Well not "extradition" in the traditional sense, since Snowden is now a Russian citizen and they don't have an extradition treaty, but hey in a lawless place, anything is possible, they can just ship him to a US-friendly country who will then deliver him the rest of the way.

I wonder if he's got a hiding strategy figured out, with wife and kid(s). Russia's a big place after all.

> say "Mr. Putin has decided to extradite you to the US in exchange for...".

Or worse. Not say anything other than "get in the car now". It is not like dictators need to explain themselves.

Nobody is ever “forced to collaborate”: Collaboration as a concept isn’t coherent if it’s ultimately involuntary.

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