Demonstrators ask Brazil to grant Snowden asylum

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Activists have given Brazil's Foreign Ministry a petition signed by 1.1 million people demanding that the South American nation grant asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

The signatures were delivered Thursday by a group of about 30, some wearing masks depicting Snowden, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and U.S. President Barack Obama.

The demonstration was organized by the global civic organization Avaaz, which uses the Internet to mobilize support for political issues.

Last year, Snowden revealed that the United States had collected data on billions of telephone and email conversations in Brazil, which is Latin America's biggest country, including Rousseff's communications with her aides.

Avaaz Brazil coordinator Michael Freitas says that "granting Snowden asylum would be a major gesture of leadership."

Russia gave Snowden asylum last year.