The Guardian reports that Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong and is now in Moscow en route to another country. That newspaper, on top of this story as usual, has a live blog on developments.
His flight from US authorities, which want to charge him with espionage, appeared set to continue with an onward flight west from Moscow to Havana on Monday. From there, various reports indicated that he would try to get to either Caracas or Quito.
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Snowden is believed to have boarded Aeroflot SU213 on Sunday morning, bound for Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Reuters cited an airline source who said the whistleblower would fly on to Cuba on Monday, before travelling on to Venezuela.Snowden had earlier cited Iceland as a possible refuge in an interview with the Guardian.
In a statement, WikiLeaks said: “He is bound for a democratic nation via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from WikiLeaks.
“Mr Snowden requested that WikiLeaks use its legal expertise and experience to secure his safety. Once Mr Snowden arrives at his final destination his request will be formally processed.”
This is an interesting development.
This is a sad development. Living in Hong Kong, I would very much have liked to invite him out to dinner. And a place to stay, if needs be.
On one of the newspaper web sites, a commenter pointed out that, if Snowden is taking an Aeroflot flight to Cuba, that flight passes over a portion of the US before arriving in Havana. The commenter raised the possibility that the USAF might try to force the plane to land at a US airport while over the US and Snowden would then be removed and arrested.
At least if the flight follows a Great Circle, the closest distance between two points on a sphere. But I think that it may get detoured a bit and thus avoid US territory.
He has arrived in Moscow, and he is staying at a hotel at the airport where he arrived. So his presence must be OK with the Russian authorities.