‘Secret surveillance’ Of Citizens exposed by Snowden Was Illegal: U.S. Court

Seven years after Edward Snowden’s revelations, a U.S. court has ruled that the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance of citizens’ telephone records is illegal.

According to the details, the court ruled that US intelligence officials who were openly defending him were not telling the truth.

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that secretly collecting the telephone records of millions of Americans violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and is unconstitutional.

NSA contractor Edward Snowden made the revelations in 2013 and sought refuge in Russia and is still facing espionage charges.

Reacting to the verdict, Snowden said in a statement on Twitter: “Seven years ago, as the news declared I was being charged as a criminal for speaking the truth, I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSA’s activities as unlawful and in the same ruling credit me for exposing them.”

Seven years ago, as the news declared I was being charged as a criminal for speaking the truth, I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSA's activities as unlawful and in the same ruling credit me for exposing them.

And yet that day has arrived. https://t.co/FRdG2zUA4U

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 2, 2020

A report published in the British newspaper Guardian in 2013 revealed that the US agency NSA had collected the telephone records of millions of citizens.

Edward Snowden’s revelations had shocked the world and he had sought refuge in Russia, while in the United States he was charged with espionage.

According to the report, top US intelligence officials were insisting that the NSA never collect American records.

He later cited a number of cases and argued that intelligence gathering was crucial to combating extremism at the local level.

U.S. officials have cited four San Diego nationals accused of funding religious extremism in Somalia.

He said that  Basaaly Saeed Moalin, Ahmed Nasir Taalil Mohamud, Mohamed Mohamud, and Issa Doreh were convicted in 2013 because of the NSA’s secret service.

The court ruled in favor of Snowden’s revelations, saying the allegations contradicted government-level records.

However, the court made it clear that the verdict would not affect the verdict against Saeed Moalin and his associates and that their trial would not be harmed by illegal supervision.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a statement that today’s decision is a victory for our right to privacy and the NSA’s collection of American phone records is against the law and the constitution.