Pardon Edward Snowden when you leave office, President Obama urged

Amnesty and the American Civil Liberties Union mount campaign for full pardon for NSA whistleblower Snowden

Amnesty International and he American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have kicked off a joint campaign to persuade President Barack Obama to grant a full pardon to Edward Snowden when the President vacates the White House in January 2017.

The US presidency grants the right to presidents to issue pardons when they leave office. The Pardon Edward Snowden campaign is appealing directly to President Obama to grant a full pardon to Snowden, enabling the National Security Agency whistleblower to return home to the US.

The launch of the campaign is expected to see Snowden speak live from his home in Russia, where he currently lives in exile.

The event will also coincide with Oliver Stone's biopic in which Jason Gordon-Levitt looks absolutely nothing like Snowden. We can't stress this enough. Chiwetel Ejofor would have been a better likeness.

Meanwhile, all the usual rhetoric surrounding Snowden, such as 'international hero', 'national traitor' and 'who?', continues.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said once again on Monday that Snowden should and will face trial for his leaks, which "damaged the United States", but would be treated fairly if he chose to come in.

The US security establishment, though, is likely to vehemently oppose any such proposal, if not in public then certainly in private.

Amnesty International, a vocal supporter of Snowden, said that his actions were above reproach, given that they exposed "indiscriminate mass surveillance of communications", citing this as a direct breach of human rights for American, and indeed global, citizens.

The ACLU, meanwhile, extended its support for Snowden, describing him as "a great American who deserves clemency for his patriotic acts".

Snowden revealed to the BBC last year that UK agencies could hack and even control mobile phones, switching them on and off at will, as well as tapping into them using a technique called 'Smurf'. This is because freedom of expression advocates became very blue after finding out about it.

The revelations have not sat well with security agencies on either side of the pond and the likelihood of Snowden ever being able to live a normal life, even after a pardon, is highly unlikely.

It's a price which he has always maintained was worth paying.