14 DAY TRIAL // WikiLeaks has said on Tuesday that the first phase of Edward Snowden’s “Flight of Liberty” campaign will start on Wednesday and promised to follow with more details, but has failed to do so until now.
According to the organization’s Twitter account, further details on this campaign would be released today, although nothing has been said so far.
The first thing anyone thinks about while reading the WikiLeaks tweet is that Snowden will finally make an appearance in the Sheremetyevo airport and board a flight out of Russia towards a destination of his choice.
Snowden has so far been offered asylum in three different countries, namely Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua, while others have vowed to consider his application if he is on their territory, including Ecuador, who is already offering protection to WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange.
However, so far there has been no official report that Snowden has accepted the asylum offers in any of these countries, despite some confusion on Tuesday, due to a TV news station.
WikiLeaks quickly shut down the rumors and soon Venezuelan officials confirmed that they had not yet heard any final decision from Snowden regarding his asylum choice.
Many believe that Venezuela is Snowden’s best bet in his effort to escape persecution and a trial that he believes will not be fair in the United States. Even the Russian foreign minister is of the same opinion.
If Snowden decides for asylum in any of the aforementioned countries, then he’d have to find a way to reach his destination without getting on a flight that will land for fuel in any of the countries where the United States has already sent arrest warrants on his name, such as Ireland and France, to name just a few.
In order to do so, Snowden would most likely have to board a private plane or a direct line to Havana, Cuba. While Cuba has yet to express a direct opinion on the matter of Snowden’s asylum request, the country’s president has already backed up the decision made by Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua in regards to the NSA whistleblower.