But Brazil says it is not considering granting asylum to Edward Snowden because it has received no official request from Snowden since he arrived in Moscow in June. The letter was published by the Folha de S. Paulo, a Brazilian newspaper and Avaaz, a website for public petitions, launched an online signature campaign to press President Dilma Rousseff to grant Snowden asylum.
"I have expressed my willingness to assist wherever appropriate and lawful, but unfortunately the United States government has worked very hard to limit my ability to do so," the letter said.
Snowden is living in Russia under temporary asylum that is due to expire in August. In a Twitter message, Senator Ricardo Ferraço, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, said "Brazil should not miss the opportunity to grant asylum to Edward Snowden, who was key to unraveling the U.S. espionage system."
The letter appears genuine and was published on the Facebook page of David Miranda, partner of journalist and blogger Glenn Greenwald, who first brought the Snowden leaks to the world's attention.
