Brazil will provide special protection to Guardian journalist

Some people call it vengeance while others call it retribution for the unwanted surveillance that the NSA conducted on Brazil.

The parliamentary commission investigating the implications of the NSA spying approved a request for special police protection for U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who along with Edward Snowden, is responsible for a series of reports that revealed a massive spying program conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency.

In the first session of the commission investigating the spying scandal, which has affected government officials in Brazil, included President Dilma Rousseff, the Senate has decided to provide security to Greenwald and his partner, Brazilian David Miranda, who was arrested in mid-August at the airport in London and questioned for more than nine hours under the British anti-terrorism law .

The rapporteur of the committee, Ricardo Ferraço, told his colleagues during a meeting in the Committee on Foreign Affairs that Greenwald had assured him that his home was invaded after the publication of the first reports that revealed details about NSA spying in Brazil. The American journalist, who works in Rio de Janeiro, also said that the material published to date is just the tip of the iceberg and that there is still much to reveal.

The president of the commission, Vanessa Grazziotin, has hinted that the Commission will collect more material on spying while Brazil analyzes the country’s ability to defend itself against such actions. The senator said the revelation that Rousseff was subject to staff espionage “exceeded the limits” and that it is something that “has shocked the entire country.”

The Brazilian Committee that investigates the spying will hear testimony from the ministers of Justice, Eduardo Cardozo, Defense Minister, Celso Amorim and Communications minister, Paulo Bernardo. It will also summon U.S. Ambassador in Brasilia, Thomas Shannon, although he could refuse to attend if he alleges diplomatic reasons.

The requirement by the Government Members of special protection for the journalist and his companion has been interpreted by the Brazilian media as a demonstration that the country is not to condemn the messenger when the importance lies in the veracity of the message revealed, which in this case states how the United States government, through its massive spying apparatus, conducts lawless surveillance over anyone it wants.

With this act, says the press, the Congress have given an example of the defense of freedom of expression and human rights, which is important when intending to protect the information that benefits society.

More news from The Real Agenda:

http://www.real-agenda.com