US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has requested asylum from Ecuador after arriving in Moscow from Hong Kong when his extradition back to the US was sought.
The 29-year-old arrived in the Russian capital on an Aeroflot flight and is staying in an airport hotel until a flight to Cuba tomorrow.
Ecuador’s foreign minister confirmed in a tweet that Mr Snowden had requested asylum in the South American country, with the Ecuadorian ambassador thought to have met the former NSA contractor in the Sheremetyevo airport hotel where he is holed up.
Russian police had earlier said they had no plans to detain him upon arrival, after Chinese authorities said he had left Hong Kong legally despite a formal extradition request being lodged by Washington.
WikiLeaks has said it is aiding the former National Security Agency contractor, with an employee of Julian Assange’s mass disclosure website accompanying Mr Snowden on the flight to Russia, along with ‘diplomats’ from an unspecified country.
Mr Snowden, an intelligence analyst, arrived in Hong Kong in May before the Guardian newspaper revealed details of extensive internet and phone surveillance by the NSA he had supplied.
Earlier, authorities in Hong Kong said: ‘Mr Edward Snowden left Hong Kong today on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel.’
On Saturday, the White House contacted Hong Kong to try to arrange his extradition.
But the territory’s administration now says the documents submitted by Washington did not ‘fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law’.
As a result, Hong Kong says it requested further information from the US Justice Department.
The statement went on ‘there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong’, adding Washington has been informed of Hong Kong’s decision.
Documents leaked by Mr Snowden revealed the NSA has access to vast amounts of internet data under a government programme known as Prism.
He has been charged in the US with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.
Each of the charges carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
The complaint is dated June 14 although it was made public only on Friday.
source: Metro uk
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