HONG KONG--Edward Snowden, the former contractor who leaked top-secret documents about about U.S. surveillance programs, has left Hong Kong “on his own accord for a third country,” the government here said Sunday afternoon.
Snowden is heading to Moscow, according to a report from the South China Morning Post. The newspaper reported that he boarded commercial flight Aeroflot SU213 from Chep Lap Kok airport at 11:04am. He is due to arrive at Moscow’s Shermetyevo International Airport at 5:15pm.
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Based on earlier statements, his final destination could be Ecuador or Iceland.
Snowden is apparently being aided in his travel by WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization that published hundreds of thousands of classified documents. The group posted on Twitter around 5 a.m. EST that Snowden was “currently over Russian airspace accompanied by WikiLeaks legal advisors.” Snowden has drawn comparisons to Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who provided the secret files to WikiLeaks.
The Hong Kong government said that documents from the U.S. government requesting a warrant for his arrest “did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.” And so it has asked the United States to provide “additional information.”
“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,” said the statement.
The Hong Kong government said it has already told the U.S. government that Snowden has left.
It has also formally written to the U.S. government asking for “clarification” on reports that computer systems in Hong Kong had been hacked by U.S. agencies.
“The HKSAR Government will continue to follow up on the matter so as to protect the legal rights of the people of Hong Kong,” continued the statement.
Snowden would not need a Russian visa if he remained at Sheremetyevo Airport and departed for another country from there. He could stay within passport control and wait for another flight.
However if he had to transfer to another Russian airport for a flight out, he would need a transit visa, which usually is not difficult to obtain. He would also need a transit visa to spend the night in an airport hotel.
If he were headed to Iceland, the easiest flight would be from St. Petersburg on IcelandAir. The next flight is Tuesday.
If Snowden is relocating to Ecuador, he would have limited travel options. There are no direct flights from Moscow to Quito, and many would-be layover destinations would likely heed Washington’s request to detain him. One likely exception would be transitoning through Havana. There are direct flights from Moscow to Havana five days a week, including Mondays, and a direct flight from Havana to Quito on Fridays.
The Russian consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment.
On June 14, the U.S. government asked Hong Kong to issue a provisional arrest warrant and filed charges against Snowden, including theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.”
Snowden is heading to Moscow, according to a report from the South China Morning Post. The newspaper reported that he boarded commercial flight Aeroflot SU213 from Chep Lap Kok airport at 11:04am. He is due to arrive at Moscow’s Shermetyevo International Airport at 5:15pm.
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Marco Sibaja Dilma Rousseff vows to boost public services and speak to protesters, but she says violence won’t be tolerated.
Based on earlier statements, his final destination could be Ecuador or Iceland.
Snowden is apparently being aided in his travel by WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization that published hundreds of thousands of classified documents. The group posted on Twitter around 5 a.m. EST that Snowden was “currently over Russian airspace accompanied by WikiLeaks legal advisors.” Snowden has drawn comparisons to Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who provided the secret files to WikiLeaks.
The Hong Kong government said that documents from the U.S. government requesting a warrant for his arrest “did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.” And so it has asked the United States to provide “additional information.”
“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,” said the statement.
The Hong Kong government said it has already told the U.S. government that Snowden has left.
It has also formally written to the U.S. government asking for “clarification” on reports that computer systems in Hong Kong had been hacked by U.S. agencies.
“The HKSAR Government will continue to follow up on the matter so as to protect the legal rights of the people of Hong Kong,” continued the statement.
Snowden would not need a Russian visa if he remained at Sheremetyevo Airport and departed for another country from there. He could stay within passport control and wait for another flight.
However if he had to transfer to another Russian airport for a flight out, he would need a transit visa, which usually is not difficult to obtain. He would also need a transit visa to spend the night in an airport hotel.
If he were headed to Iceland, the easiest flight would be from St. Petersburg on IcelandAir. The next flight is Tuesday.
If Snowden is relocating to Ecuador, he would have limited travel options. There are no direct flights from Moscow to Quito, and many would-be layover destinations would likely heed Washington’s request to detain him. One likely exception would be transitoning through Havana. There are direct flights from Moscow to Havana five days a week, including Mondays, and a direct flight from Havana to Quito on Fridays.
The Russian consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment.
On June 14, the U.S. government asked Hong Kong to issue a provisional arrest warrant and filed charges against Snowden, including theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.”