PRISM Whistleblower Snowden Flees To Russia, Seeks Asylum In Ecuador

PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden has moved to Moscow and made a request for political asylum in Ecuador – a request which is being “analysed”, confirmed Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino on Monday.

Snowden left Hong Kong for Moscow on Sunday. It is understood he has not left the city’s Sheremetyevo airport, as he does not have a Russian visa, and his Unitede Statespassport has been revoked. He is now expected to travel to Ecuador via Cuba on a Monday afternoon flight.

Asylum request

Patino, who is currently travelling in Vietnam, said Ecuador  would make a decision on the asylum request based on “principle”, in a veiled reference to the US’ spying activities revealed by Snowden.

“We always act by principle, not in our own interest,” Patino told Reuters. “There are some governments who act more on their own interests, we do not…. (The request) has to do with freedom of expression and the security of citizens around the world.”

Ecuador has been providing political asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at the country’s London embassy for the past year, and Assange  confirmed that Wikileaks has been providing logistical support to Snowden since he left Hong Kong.

Snowden was accompanied by a Wikileaks activist on his flight from Hong Kong to Moscow. Ecuador’s ambassador to Russia told the television station Russia Today that he planned to have talks with Snowden, while AFP correspondents reported having seen two cars from the Ecuadorian embassy at Sheremetyevo airport’s VIP arrivals area.

China hack disclosure

Snowden’s unexpected departure from Hong Kong arrived amidst the disclosure of more PRISM documents, published by the South China Morning Post, indicating that the US’ National Security Agency (NSA) has long engaged in offensive cyber-espionage activities against China, including hacking into the systems of Chinese mobile phone companies to access millions of private text messages.

The US on Friday filed a formal request with Hong Kong’s government to have Snowden arrested and extradited on espionage charges. However, Hong Kong said the papers were incomplete, giving it no reason to prevent Snowden from leaving the country.

It did not escape US officials’ notice that the documents’ insufficiency was only remarked two days after the request, and that Hong Kong only admitted that Snowden had been allowed to leave the country five hours after the departure of his Aeroflot flight.

“In light of this, we find their decision to be particularly troubling,” said a US justice department official.

NSA head General Keith Alexander said the hacks on China were carried out in compliance with US law and with the oversight of the US government. “The fact is what we’re trying to do is get the information our nation needs, the foreign intelligence, that primary mission,” he said on Saturday.

Wikileaks aid

Assange, speaking from Ecuador’s London embassy, told the Sydney Morning Herald that Wikileaks supports Snowden’s decision to reveal the NSA’s activities, and would help him gain asylum.

“Owing to WikiLeaks’ own circumstances, we have developed significant expertise in international asylum and extradition law, associated diplomacy and the practicalities in these matters,” Assange said.

Snowden left his home in Hawaii for Hong Kong after leaking details of his work as an NSA contractor to the Guardian and the Washington Post. The US has charged him with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence, each charge carrying a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

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