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Why is Edward Snowden taking a Twitter sabbatical? Internet approves of his downtime plan: 'Enjoy the baby'

Although there was no official reason listed behind the hiatus announcement, social media users were of the opinion that he needed some downtime with his family and his newborn

Edward Snowden will be taking a sabbatical from Twitter. The whistleblower who went unpardoned by former President Donald Trump, took to the social media platform saying he would be off it for a while. "Taking a Twitter sabbatical. Stay free," was his short and crisp message.

Snowden, along with Julian Assange, was not issued a pardon despite netizens calling out for his freedom. Snowden caused quite a stir with his tweet on Trump's final days as the President. He tweeted about Alexei Navalny's arrest. The 44-year-old opposition leader was detained after his flight from Germany landed in Moscow on Sunday. Navalny was almost killed in a nerve agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin.

For those unaware, Navalny is an anti-corruption campaigner and a renowned face in Russia as one of President Vladimir Putin's key opposition. However, with his recent tweet, it is all but clear that Snowden will be off social media, at least for some time.

Assange, the WikiLeaks founder had been charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, alleging that he aided former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a password stored on the US Department of Defense computers.

Why did Edward Snowden take a Twitter sabbatical?

Although there was no official reason listed behind the hiatus announcement, Twitterati was of the opinion that he needed some downtime with his family and his newborn. "Stay safe and enjoy the baby Ed," read one of the tweets.

This was seconded by a few more thoughts that said it was a good call to make. "A year is a long time.. Enjoy your kid, wife, & life. I take great joy in being able to follow your feed. I look forward to your return. I dont know you personally, but take care, my friend. I'll be wishing & praying the best for your family. You're an amazing hero in my eyes!" one comment read.

Snowden leaked classified documents about the National Security Agency's (NSA) surveillance operations when he was an employee with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In 2013, Snowden fled to Hong Kong, and then Russia as the United States filed charges on two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property.

The support continued to flow. "Staying free these days is becoming more and more of a challenge. Stay safe out there and come back soon," one person remarked. "Understandable. Enjoy the extra free time. In freedom!!! Thank you for having the courage to tell you the truth, Mr. Snowden."

In December,  Snowden and his wife Lindsay Mills have announced the birth of their first child, a baby boy.  'Merry Christmas Baby. selfportrait. the greatest gift of all is the love we share. Happy Holidays from our newly expanded family,' Mills wrote on social media.

It was a similar message on Snowden's Twitter account: "The greatest gift is the love we share," he wrote together with a photo of Mills and the baby. The announcement was made just two months after the 37-year-old was granted permanent residency in Russia.