Diplomats and law enforcement officials from the United States warned countries in Latin America not to harbor Mr. Snowden or allow him to pass through to other destinations after he fled Hong Kong for Moscow possibly en route to Ecuador or another nation where he could seek asylum.
Mr. Snowden managed to elude capture just as American officials were asking the Hong Kong authorities to detain and send him to the United States on charges that he illegally disclosed classified documents about global American surveillance programs. He was aided in his escape by WikiLeaks the antisecrecy organization whose founder said he helped arrange special refugee travel documents from Ecuador.
The foreign minister of Ecuador confirmed receiving an asylum request from Mr. Snowden. As of early Monday morning in Russia Mr. Snowden was believed to be staying the night inside the transit zone of a Moscow airport where he was visited by an Ecuadorean diplomat. It was not clear whether he would be allowed to travel further or if he were whether Ecuador would indeed be his final destination.
Russian news services reported that Mr. Snowden would take a Monday afternoon flight to Cuba prompting a late rush for tickets from the horde of journalists gathered at the airport. But others dismissed it as a ruse to put the news media and others off Mr. Snowden s trail.
The White House in its first official statement released just after midnight Monday morning expressed disappointment in Hong Kong s decision to allow Mr. Snowden to leave and pressed Russia to turn him over citing the cooperation between the two countries since the Boston Marathon bombings.
Caitlin Hayden a spokeswoman for the National Security Council pointedly noted that the United States had returned numerous high level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government then added We expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged.
The turn of events opened a startling new chapter in a case that had already captivated many in the United States and around the world. Mr. Snowden s transcontinental escape was seen as a fresh embarrassment for the Obama administration and raised questions about its tactics in the case like its failure to immediately revoke Mr. Snowden s passport.
It also further complicated Washington s ties with Russia and China where at least some officials take delight in tweaking what they call American double standards.
Julian Assange the founder of WikiLeaks said in an interview from his own refuge in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London that he had raised Mr. Snowden s case with Ecuador s government and that his group had helped arrange the travel documents. Baltasar Garz n the renowned Spanish jurist who advises WikiLeaks said in a statement that what is being done to Mr. Snowden and to Mr. Julian Assange for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest is an assault against the people.
Obama administration officials privately expressed frustration that Hong Kong allowed Mr. Snowden to board an Aeroflot plane bound for Moscow on Sunday despite the American request for his detention. But they did not revoke Mr. Snowden s passport until Saturday and did not ask Interpol to issue a red notice seeking his arrest.
An administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity said no red notice was requested because they are most valuable when the whereabouts of a fugitive are unknown. Mr. Snowden was known to be in Hong Kong so his provisional arrest was sought under an existing American agreement with Hong Kong.
Peter Baker reported from Washington and Ellen Barry from Moscow. Reporting was contributed by Scott Shane Steven Lee Myers and Charlie Savage from Washington Keith Bradsher from Hong Kong Michael R. Gordon from Doha Qatar Rick Gladstone from New York and Andrew Roth from Moscow.
{ 0 comments... Views All / Send Comment! }
Post a Comment