Maybe yes, perhaps no, we shall know when we know ...
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1267261/snowden-leaves-hong-kong-commercial-flight-moscow
Hong Kong has 'no legal basis' to keep Snowden, bound for Venezuela via Moscow and Cuba | South China Morning PostUS whistle-blower Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong and is on a commercial flight to Russia, but Moscow will not be his final destination.
The fugitive whistle-blower boarded the Moscow-bound flight earlier on Sunday and would continue on to another country, possibly Cuba then Venezuela, according to media reports.
The Hong Kong government said in a statement that Snowden had departed "on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel".
The 30-year-old left from Chep Lap Kok airport on a flight scheduled for 10.55am. He boarded Aeroflot Flight SU213, which is due to land at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport at 5.15pm local time ( 9.15pm Hong Kong time).
"Snowden left Hong Kong on his own will," a government source told thePost, adding that the Hong Kong government had not provided Snowden with any assistance or protection during his whole stay. The source dispelled media claims that the government had provided him a "safe house".
It was understood that Snowden's departure was a relief to the Hong Kong government, which had been making all legal preparation to deal with new developments regarding the case.
Regina Ip, former secretary of security, told the New York Times: "I think [the US] government will be upset for a while, but I hope that they will shrug it off, because our government acted in accordance with the law. Our government officials can breathe a sigh of relief."
Final destination?
Russian news agencies Interfax and Itar-Tass reported Snowden is booked on a flight from Moscow to Cuba on Monday. Itar-Tass said Snowden would fly from Havana to Caracas, Venezuela.
“A passenger under that name will arrive in Moscow from Hong Kong today on flight SU213, and tomorrow, on June 24, he will fly to Havana on flight SU150,” the state news agency ITAR-Tass quoted a source at the airline as saying. “Also tomorrow, he will go to Caracas from Havana on a local flight.”
There is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong
'No legal basis'
The Hong Kong government said it had notified the US government about Snowden's departure.
Snowden is wanted by the US government after he disclosed classified documents detailing the clandestine cybersnooping programmes carried out by Washington’s National Security Agency.
The US government on June 14 filed espionage and theft charges against the former CIA technician, and the US National Security Council confirmed that it had put in a formal extradition request to the Hong Kong government.
The Hong Kong government said on Sunday that it had requested more information so the Department of Justice could consider whether to go forward with the US extradition request.
“As the HKSAR government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong,” the statement said.
WikiLeaks' role
WikiLeaks, whistle-blowing website founded by Julian Assange, said on Twitter it had helped Snowdwn secure political asylum in a “democratic country”. It also said it had arranged his travel papers and "safe exit from Hong Kong".
Snowden "is bound for a democratic nation via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks", the group said in a statement.
According to a Moscow-based reservations agent contacted by the New York Times, Snowden is traveling with one other person, who was identified by only the last name Harrison. The companion is believed to be Sarah Harrison, a spokeswoman for WikiLeaks and assistant to Assange.
Snowden "will be met by diplomats from the country that will be his ultimate destination", Assange told Australian media on Sunday. "Diplomats from that country will accompany him on a further flight to his destination."
It has been previously reported that Iceland or Ecuador were possible options for Snowden to seek political asylum.
Officials with US Secretary of State John Kerry, who arrived on his first official visit to India on Sunday, declined immediate comment on the news of Snowden's flight, Agence France-Presse reported.
The Russian embassy in Beijing would neither confirm nor deny Snowden is on a flight to Moscow. The Russian consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Sunday that he was unaware of Snowden's location or plans, Reuters reported. |
