Edward Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor who leaked classified documents revealing US internet and phone surveillance, has asked Ecuador for asylum.
The request was confirmed by Ecuador’s foreign minister on Twitter.
Mr Snowden had fled the US for Hong Kong but flew out on Sunday morning and is currently in Moscow.
The US wanted him extradited, but the Hong Kong government said Washington had failed to meet its requirements.
Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, who is in Vietnam, said on Twitter: “The Government of Ecuador has received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden.”
The announcement came after the Ecuadorian ambassador to Russia told reporters he would meet Mr Snowden and a representative from Wikileaks for talks on Sunday.
Mr Snowden arrived on Aeroflot flight SU213 and landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport at 17:10 local time (13:10 GMT). He was picked up at the airport by either a Venezuelan or Ecuadorean embassy car.
A source at the airline company was quoted earlier as saying that Mr Snowden would fly on to Cuba.
It is unclear where Mr Snowden currently is, but he is reported to have not left the airport.
Snowden asks Ecuador for asylum
No comments:
Post a Comment