US efforts to arrest NSA whistleblower a 'disgrace': Assange

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has reportedly called US efforts to arrest NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden by revoking his passport and pressurizing other nations to deny political asylum a 'disgrace'.

The US authorities have revoked Snowden's passport as a result of which marooned in Moscow's Shermetyevo airport's transit area and Ecuador and Russia are unable to proceed with any attempts for his exit.

According to the New York Daily News, Assange said that Snowden is a 'hero' for having revealed 'mass unlawful interception of the communications to US citizens.

He said that Snowden has not been convicted of anything and criticized US Vice President Joe Biden for pressurizing Ecuador to deny asylum to Snowden calling it an 'unacceptable' way to deny an 'international right'.

Assange further called the US led NSA's 'snooping programme' in which citizens' web activities and phone records were tracked and collected, as far worse than anything that happened under Nixon, the report added.