Snowden Applies for Asylum in Russia
US whistleblower has applied for asylum in 15 countries, including Russia.
Al Jareeza News/Reuters: 01 Jul 2013
Edward Snowden has applied for asylum in 15 countries, according to a Russian official [Reuters]
US whistleblower Edward Snowden has applied for asylum in Russia, hours after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had no intention of handing him to the United States.
The
New York Times on Monday quoted a Russian official as saying Snowden had applied for asylum in Russia, as well as 14 other countries that he did not name.
A Russian immigration official, who didn't want to be named, told Reuters news agency that a Wikileaks activist who is traveling with Snowden handed his application to a Russian consulate in the transit area at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport late on Sunday.
It came hours after Putin said Moscow did not intend to hand him to US authorities, but said he must stop leaking information if he wished to remain in Russia.
Snowden "is not a Russian agent", Putin said on Monday, and that Russian intelligence services were not working with the fugitive American, who is believed to remain in the transit area at a Moscow airport eight days after arriving from Hong Kong.
Quote:
"Russia never hands over anybody anywhere and has no intention to do so," he said.
However, "if he wants to remain here there is one condition - he should stop his work aimed at inflicting damage on our American partners no matter how strange this may sound coming from me."
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Norms of International Law
Putin said Snowden should choose his final destination and go there.
A senior Russian security official has said President Putin and US President Barack Obama had told FSB and the FBI, the security agencies of their respective countries, to seek a solution on the Snowden case, Russian RIA news agency reported.
Nikolai Patrushev, former head of the FSB and the current Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, made the statement during his appearance on Russia 24.
"Of course they do not have solutions that would suit both sides, that is why they have instructed the director of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov and head of FBI, Robert Mueller, to be in constant contact and come up with options for solutions."
Patrushev added that "the task at hand is not a simple one, since [the FSB and the FBI] need to find a solution within the norms of international law".
"Today there is no 'ready to use' formula" he said.
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Ecuador President: Snowden's Future is out of our hands- He Needs to Be in Ecuador to Apply for Asylum
Rafael Correa tells Al Jazeera US Security Whistleblower has to be in Ecuador or Approach an Embassy to Secure Asylum.
Al Jareeza: 01 Jul 2013
Rafael Correa, Ecuador's president, has said his country will take a "sovereign decision" to consider US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden's request for asylum, but added that his fate is not in the hands of Ecuadorians.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Correa said Ecuador could not take any steps because Snowden was not on Ecuadorian soil and had not approached an Ecuadorian embassy.
The former National Security Agency freelance analyst is believed to be in Moscow's international airport and is wanted by the US for leaking confidential information about a surveillance programme called PRISM.
Snowden, who travelled to Moscow from Hong Kong, has since had his passport revoked by the US government.
Correa added that the Ecuadorian Ambassador in Russia had met Snowden but there had been no further contact with him.
Asked about the treatment of asylum given to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Correa said that the difference with Assange was that he made it to the Ecuadorian Embassy.
Correa said that any decision to be made with respect to Snowden would be based on US and international laws.
He said that Snowden had been seeking asylum in countries such as Russia, China and Ecuador, which contradicts certain US senators' views that these countries restricts and monitors freedom of expression.
"Rest assured, we don't spy on anyone, unless it is organised crime," Correa said. "We don't accept anybody doing it."
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Snowden had no choice really, he was trapped in that transit hotel, as he had no visa to enter Russia, thus could not go to the Ecuadorian or any other countrys' Embassy in Moscow to apply for asylum, as is required.
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