Snowden set to meet human rights groups Human rights groups Transparency International and Amnesty International said they had received emails inviting them to meet Snowden. It is understood the former US intelligence contractor has been holed up in the transit area of the airport since June 23. In his request to meet it was reported he wants to discuss what he called "threatening behaviour" by the United States to prevent him gaining asylum. A copy of Snowden's email was posted on Facebook by an official of Human Rights Watch. It reads in part: "In recent weeks we have witnessed an unlawful campaign by officials in the US Government to deny my right to seek and enjoy this asylum under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." "The scale of threatening behavior is without precedent," Snowden wrote. Venezuela is one of three countries which have offered to take him in. It is believed he sent requests to over 20 countries. Snowden is wanted by Washington on espionage charges for divulging details of secret US surveillance programmes. Dangerous escalation Bolivian President Evo Morales's official jet had to land in Austria after departing from Moscow, amid suspicions that Snowden was on board, triggering accusations that Washington had asked European countries to bar the flight from their airspace. "Never before in history have states conspired to force to the ground a sovereign President's plane to effect a search for a political refugee," Snowden wrote. This dangerous escalation represents a threat not just to the dignity of Latin America or my own personal security, but to the basic right shared by every living person to live free from persecution. More about: Edward Snowden, Human Rights