14 DAY TRIAL // Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the source of the string of leaks surrounding the intelligence agency, has left Hong Kong where he had been staying for the past few weeks and is now seeking political asylum in Ecuador, with the help of Wikileaks.
He left Hong Kong without any problems, as authorities there said that the US had not sent the proper papers to have him held or arrested pending extradition. It is also reported that his US passport has been revoked, which should have prevented him from leaving.
Hong Kong authorities were also quite upset over the allegations that the US government had hacked into key infrastructure there.
Snowden left Hong Kong yesterday headed for Moscow, where he's currently staying. He doesn't have a visa, but was met by diplomats when he arrived. Apparently, some Wikileaks representatives are with him.
He is headed for Ecuador via a safe route which apparently involves Cuba. Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño Aroca revealed that Snowden had requested asylum there.
"Mr Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed evidence of a global surveillance regime conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, has left Hong Kong legally," Wikileaks said in a statement.
"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," it added.
The US hasn't reacted well to the news, with several politicians and officials angry at Hong Kong for allowing Snowden to leave and critical of him for choosing Moscow for safe passage.
"The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr Snowden’s rights and protecting him as a person. 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," former Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, the current legal director of Wikileaks and lawyer for Julian Assange, said.