Snowden did a great thing. These revelations are shocking': Matt Damon praises NSA leaker for opening debate on civil liberties Matt Damon has come out in defence of NSA leaker Edward Snowden by saying he did 'a great thing' in exposing details of America's spying operations. The Hollywood actor said the 'shocking' revelations that have emerged in recent weeks 'flew in the face' of what officials had said publicly about the U.S. surveillance program PRISM. Snowden, a former CIA employee, was working for an NSA contractor in May when he stole a raft of top-secret documents before leaking them to the media. Supporter: Matt Damon tells Sam Asi of BBC Arabic TV's Alternate Cinema that NSA leaker Edward Snowden 'did a great thing' by exposing America's surveillance operations Speaking in an interview for the BBC Arabic TV show Alternate Cinema, Damon said: 'I haven't read everything that he's leaked. He certainly seems like a very conscientious guy and these revelations are pretty incredible and pretty shocking and kind of fly in the face of public statements that all these officials have made. 'On balance, I think it's a great thing that he did.' He said the whistleblower had opened the debate about just how far civil liberties should be sacrificed to keep the public safe. He added: 'If we're going to trade our civil liberties for our security, then that should be a decision that we collectively make.' Damon's views emerged as it was revealed yesterday that the National Security Agency bugged the United Nations' New York headquarters, according to Germany's Der Spiegel weekly in a report that could further strain relations between Washington and its allies. Citing secret U.S. documents obtained by Snowden, Der Spiegel said the files showed how the United States systematically spied on other states and institutions. The UN did not directly comment on Monday on the hacking reports, saying only that international treaties protect its offices and all diplomatic missions from interference, spying and eavesdropping. It has also emerged that Snowden spent two days in the Russian Consulate in Hong Kong directly before flying to Moscow on what turned out to be an abortive attempt to reach asylum in Latin America. He also marked his 30th birthday in the Russian Consulate during those days, the respected newspaper Kommersant reported today citing unidentified sources in Snowden's circle and the Russian government. President Barack Obama will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week in some fashion during the G20 summit in St Petersburg, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Monday. Obama and Putin have been at odds over Russia's decision to grant temporary asylum to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden. The move allowed Snowden to avoid facing U.S. espionage charges for revealing details of U.S. surveillance programs.