Arild Humlen is one of the leading Norwegian lawyers in the asylum issues. Talking to P4, Humlen says that Snowden’s asylum application could be accepted by Norway, even if Snowden is still in Russia.
– Refugee law provides for granting asylum, even if the person is in Norway or on the border. Norwegian Immigration Act basically says that an applicant must be in the country or at the border, but the refugee law could override this as in many previous cases in the country, says the lawyer.
He reminded that Norway has tradition to do this before. During the coup in Chile where Augusto Pinochet came to power, Norway was one of the most active countries in relation to retrieve Chilean citizens out of prisons and transport them to Norway even though they did not meet the requirement of being in Norway or on the border.
It is claimed that Norway is concerned about a possible diplomatic crisis with its close ally, the USA. However, Humlen thinks the Norwegian laws have a concrete base for granting asylum right to Snowden, which hinders such a crisis.
