MOSCOW, Oct 12: US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden warned of dangers to democracy in the first video released of the fugitive since Russia granted him temporary asylum in August.

“If we can’t understand the policies and programmes of our government we can’t grant our consent in regulating them,” Snowden said in one of the short video clips posted on the WikiLeaks website on Friday night.

The anti-secrecy group said the videos were filmed on Wednesday when Snowden met with a group of four retired US ex-intelligence workers and activists now seeking to promote ethics within the profession.

Snowden, a former National Security Agency computer administrator, is wanted in the United States for espionage and other charges after leaking details of vast US telephone and Internet surveillance programs.

Dressed in a black suit and blue shirt with no tie and looking at ease, Snowden reiterated the dangers of NSA surveillance, saying indiscriminate spying was a “far cry” from legitimate programmes.

“It’s a sort of dragnet mass surveillance that puts entire populations under a sort of eye that sees everything, even when it’s not needed,” he said.—AFP