PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by a Swedish sociology professor from Umeå University. Professor Stefan Svallfors wrote to nominate Snowden, who is currently seeking temporary asylum in Russia while avoiding extradition to the US to face espionage charges, claiming that he had made the world ‘safer’ for leaking information on the National Security Agency’s international data mining operation. A translation of the letter reads: “Edward Snowden has, in a heroic effort at great personal cost, revealed the existence and extent of the surveillance, the U.S. government devotes electronic communications worldwide. By putting light on this monitoring program - conducted in contravention of national laws and international agreements, Edward Snowden has helped to make the world a little bit better and safer.”

Mejlar till Norska Nobelkommittén. pic.twitter.com/RCYqxHvOyO — Stefan Svallfors (@StefanSvallfors) July 13, 2013

However the nomination by the professor may be in vain as the deadline for the next award to be presented has already passed for this year, set at 1 February. This year’s prize is expected to be announced in October. Snowden held a press conference over the weekend at an airport in Moscow where he revealed that he had no regrets about leaking the top secret information despite the devastating consequences his actions have had on his life.