PARIS — A European Parliament committee has invited Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has leaked classified government documents and is now in hiding in Russia, to testify via video link as part of an investigation into how to protect the privacy of European citizens.

The Parliament’s Justice and Civil Liberties Committee voted 36-2 with one abstention on Thursday to seek testimony from Mr. Snowden, whose exposures of the reach of surveillance activities by the United States on even its closest allies has raised global awareness about privacy issues and deeply embarrassed the Obama administration. Mr. Snowden has become a hero among civil liberty advocates in both Europe and the United States.

However, some dissenting voices in the Parliament tried to block the invitation, with some conservative members calling Mr. Snowden a scourge who had put national security at risk and others warning that inviting him could undermine Europe’s relations with the United States.

Mr. Snowden “has endangered lives,” said Timothy Kirkhope, a British member from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group.