Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who exposed the NSA’s PRISM surveillance program and a number of similar government initiatives over the course of the last few weeks, has left Hong Kong and is currently in transit in Moscow. According to Wikileaks, which has been providing legal assistance to Snowden, he is on his way to a “democratic nation via a safe route for the purposes of asylum.”
NSA Whistleblower Snowden Leaves Honk Kong For Moscow, Looking For Asylum In “Democratic Nation”
That democratic nation, the earliest reports suggested, was Venezuela, with Moscow just being the first stop on his journey. Now, however, it looks like Ecuador, which also provided asylum to Wikileaks founder, has taken an interest in his case, too. Earlier this week, it seemed Snowden was going to head for Iceland. Where exactly he is going, however, remains unclear and we will update this post as we learn more.
The Ecuadorean Ambassador is still here at Moscow airport. It looks like Ecuador is Edward Snowden's destination http://t.co/ZUfwND94nJ—
Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) June 23, 2013
Snowden was allowed to leave Honk Kong legally, Hong Kong’s government said today, because the U.S.’s request for the issue of a warrant of arrest “did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.” Hong Kong asked the U.S. for more information, but because it didn’t receive this yet, it had “no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.” Hong Kong, it’s worth noting, is also asking the U.S. for clarifications about earlier reports that its computer systems were hacked by U.S. agencies.
Snowden left Honk Kong on an Aeroflot jet bound for Moscow, which landed a few hours ago, but most current reports suggest he will continue from there to Cuba and finally Venezuela. If he remains in transit in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, it’s unlikely Russia could detain him, even if the U.S. issued a request. ABC’s Kirit Radia, who talked to passenger’s on Sowden’s flight, suggest that his plane was met by “diplomatic cars,” but it’s unclear what country’s cars these were.
We will update this story as we hear more.
#Russia's Interfax news agency reports Venezuelan diplomat picked Snowden up in a car on tarmac at Moscow airport. Whisked him away #NSA—
Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) June 23, 2013
