Vitalik Defends Virgil Griffth, Says it’s “Admirable” to Go to North Korea

• The blog, by Enrico Talin, was  requesting Buterin “to start a petition to free Virgil Griffith”
• Vitalik says that if “more people on all sides did that” it would make the world a better place.
• Buterin shares one of the tweets made by Virgil stating that a trip to North Korea is his own vacation and EF is not associated with it.

Vitalik Buterin forges ahead in defense of Virgil Griffith, the violator of IEEPA( International Emergency Economic Powers Act) and tweets several factors to prove his innocence. This comes in response to an arguing him to do the same. The blog, by Enrico Talin, was requesting Buterin “to start a petition to free Virgil Griffith”

Vitalik believes that it is a good act to interact with the isolated countries exchanging ideas and to “hear out what they have to say”.  He feels that it will reform the whole world moving towards a universal brotherhood if the “Maximum Enemy Evil (North Korea)” is heard and interacted with. Vitalik says that if “more people on all sides did that” it would make the world a better place.

The tweet states

1. Geopolitical open-mindedness is a *virtue*. It's *admirable* to go to a group of people that one has been trained since childhood to believe is a Maximum Evil Enemy, and hear out what they have to say. The world would be better if more people on all sides did that.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 1, 2019

He further argues that Virgil has not provided DPRK with any assistance to do something wrong. He has just presented before them the information, which is already displayed publicly. Sharing and discussing an open-source software which is already public does not make him guilty. He further tweets

3. I don't think what Virgil did gave DRPK any kind of real help in doing anything bad. He *delivered a presentation based on publicly available info about open-source software*. There was no weird hackery "advanced tutoring".

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 1, 2019

Buterin says that he would have reacted the first if the interaction had any illicit purpose. Moreover, this was not for any personal gain as “Virgil made no personal gain from the trip”- claims Buterin.

He also tries to show the Ethereum Foundation (EF) as an untouched element in the whole issue with no financial assistance offered through the foundation. He  states that

This whole thing has nothing to do with EF.

Buterin shares one of the tweets made by Virgil stating that a trip to North Korea is his own vacation and EF is not associated with it.

Virgil’s tweet says

Ethereum Foundation isn't going. This is just my vacation.

— Virgil Griffith | ??????.??? (@virgilgr) January 18, 2019

Eventually, Vitalik tweets that the USA should focus on “genuine corruption” rather than following the programmers speaking about something that is already public. He also says that any official step taken in favor of Virgil will highlight the “strength” of the USA and not the weakness.

The tweet says-

6. So I hope USA shows strength rather than weakness and focuses on genuine and harmful corruption that it and all countries struggle with rather than going after programmers delivering speeches parroting public information.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 1, 2019

Virgil Griffith, a US citizen was arrested for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as he traveled to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea( DPRK).