Edward Snowden wants to go back to the US but faces espionage charges if he returns <\/p>\n
A National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program has been ruled unlawful, seven years after it was exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. <\/p>\n
The surveillance of millions of Americans' telephone records first came to light in 2013. <\/p>\n
And Mr Snowden has said he feels vindicated by the ruling. <\/p>\n
I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSAs activities as unlawful and in the same ruling credit me for exposing them, Mr Snowden said. <\/p>\n
\"And yet that day has arrived,\" he added. <\/p>\n
Accept and continue <\/p>\n
Top US intelligence officials had publicly insisted the NSA had never knowingly collected data from private phone records, until Mr Snowden exposed evidence to the contrary in 2013. <\/p>\n
Following the revelation, officials said the NSA's surveillance program had played a crucial role in fighting domestic terrorism, including the convictions of Basaaly Saeed Moalin, Ahmed Nasir Taalil Mohamud, Mohamed Mohamud, and Issa Doreh, of San Diego, for providing aid to al-Shabab militants in Somalia. <\/p>\n
But, on Wednesday, the Court of Appeals said the claims were \"inconsistent with the contents of the classified records\" and the program had violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. <\/p>\n
The ruling will not affect the 2013 convictions. <\/p>\n
Todays ruling is a victory for our privacy rights, the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement. <\/p>\n
\"It makes plain that the NSAs bulk collection of Americans phone records violated the Constitution. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n