The Guardian's version on events
Edward
Snowden seeks asylum in Ecuador amid diplomatic storm
Whistleblower
escapes from Hong Kong to Moscow on a commercial flight despite a
formal US extradition request
23
June, 2013
The
intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden will on Monday attempt to
complete an audacious escape to the relative safety of South America
after his departure from Hong Kong escalated already fraught
diplomatic relations between the United States and China.
In
a move that appeared to bewilder the White House, Snowden was allowed
to flee Hong Kong on Sunday morning and head to Moscow on a
commercial flight despite a formal request from the US to have the
30-year-old detained and extradited to face espionage charges for a
series of leaks about the National Security Agency (NSA) and
Britain's spy centre, GCHQ.
Arriving
in Moscow, Snowden disappeared again, leaving the aircraft without
being spotted, but being pursued by the Ecuadorian ambassador,
Patricio Chávez, amid speculation that he will fly to Quito on
Monday, possibly via Cuba.
Snowden
has asked for political asylum in Ecuador, the country that has also
given shelter to the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, at its
embassy in London.
In
a statement on Sunday night, WikiLeaks, which has been providing
legal and logistical help to Snowden in recent days, said: "He
is bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the
purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal
advisers from WikiLeaks."
"Mr
Snowden requested that WikiLeaks use its legal expertise and
experience to secure his safety. Once Mr Snowden arrives in Ecuador
his request will be formally processed."Snowden's escape from
Hong Kong infuriated US politicians, while China focused on
condemning Washington over his latest disclosures, which suggested
the NSA had hacked into Chinese mobile phone companies to access
millions of private text messages.
Moscow
was also drawn into the controversy after it emerged that Snowden's
passport had been revoked before he left Hong Kong and he did not
have a visa for Russia. But Russia appeared indifferent to the
uproar, with one official saying Snowden was safe from the
authorities as long as he remained in the transit lounge at the
city's Sheremetyevo airport.
Dmitry
Peskov, spokesman for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said: "I
know nothing."
In
Washington, congressmen fulminated at the array of powers suddenly
ranged against the US. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House permanent
select committee on intelligence, railed at Russian president
Vladimir Putin over his attitude to Snowden, suggesting an ulterior
motive. "I'm sure they would love to have a little bit of coffee
and some conversation with Mr Snowden," Rogers said.
The
Democratic senator Chuck Schumer added: "The bottom line is very
simple: allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and
Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the
United States, whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with
Snowden. That's not how allies should treat each other and I think it
will have serious consequences for the United States-Russia
relationship."
Washington
will also challenge Hong Kong over its decision to let Snowden flee.
In a statement, the Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region (HKSAR) said
it could not have stopped Snowden because America's request to detain
him on a provisional warrant – filed in papers last week – did
not fully comply with legal requirements. "As the HKSAR
government has yet to have sufficient information to process the
request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to
restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong," the statement said.
Yet
the admission that Snowden had been allowed to leave was made five
hours after he had boarded an Aeroflot flight to Moscow, and the
discovery of the oversight came two days after the papers had been
formally sent.
Snowden,
a former NSA contractor, had previously said he would stay in Hong
Kong and fight for his freedom through the courts. He had been at a
safe house after giving an interview to the Guardian revealing
himself as the source who leaked top-secret US documents.
Since
then, Snowden has been in touch with WikiLeaks, which revealed on
Sunday that it had been instrumental in helping him find safe passage
out of Hong Kong.
Speaking
to the Sydney Morning Herald from the Ecuadorian embassy in London,
Julian Assange said: "Owing to WikiLeaks' own circumstances, we
have developed significant expertise in international asylum and
extradition law, associated diplomacy and the practicalities in these
matters. I have great personal sympathy for Ed Snowden's position.
WikiLeaks absolutely supports his decision to blow the whistle on the
mass surveillance of the world's population by the US government."
On
Saturday, the South China Morning Post disclosed details of new
documents from Snowden, which suggested the NSA had hacked into
Chinese phone companies.
For
the second time in 10 days General Keith Alexander, the head of the
NSA, had to defend the agency's activities, and he did not deny the
latest allegations.
"To
say that we're willfully just collecting all sorts of data would give
you the impression that we're just trying to canvas the whole world,"
Alexander said.
"The
fact is what we're trying to do is get the information our nation
needs, the foreign intelligence, that primary mission. The case that
Snowden has brought up is in defending this nation from a terrorist
attack. I'm confident that we're following the laws that our country
has in doing what we do. We have a set of laws that guide how NSA
acts; we follow those laws. We have tremendous oversight by all three
portions of the government: the courts, Congress and the
administration."
But
China's official Xinhua news agency said the revelations had "put
Washington in a really awkward situation".
"They
demonstrate that the United States, which has long been trying to
play innocent as a victim of cyber attacks, has turned out to be the
biggest villain in our age," it said.
The
fall-out from Snowden's leaks continued to stir the surveillance
debate in the UK, with Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty,
insisting David Cameron or the foreign secretary, William Hague,
should address MPs.
On
Friday, the Guardian revealed GCHQ has put taps on some of the cables
that carry internet traffic in and out of the UK, and has developed a
storage system - codenamed Tempora - that can keep the information
for up to 30 days.
The
programme, which has not been disclosed before, allows GCHQ to keep a
vast amount of emails and telephone calls for analysis.
Chakrabarti
said: "The authorities appear to be kidding themselves with a
very generous interpretation of the law that cannot stand with
article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"Revelations
of blanket surveillance of the British public on such a scale amount
to a huge scandal even by the standards of recent years. At the very
least, the prime minister or foreign secretary should appear before
the House of Commons immediately to explain how this was justified
without clear legal authority or parliamentary debate."
GCHQ
has said it complies fully with British law.
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