JRL NEWSBLOG: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

[Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia – New York Times – Ellen Barry – July 12, 2013 – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/world/europe/snowden-russia-asylum.html]

Ellen Barry of The New York Times reports on fugitive Edward Snowden, former NSA IT support contractor, and his renewed interest in gaining asylum in Russia:

… Snowden, the fugitive American intelligence contractor, met with representatives of international human rights organizations at his temporary Moscow airport refuge … and appealed for their help in seeking asylum status in Russia until he can safely travel to Latin America.

Breaking his silence and seclusion after … nearly three weeks in the international transit zone at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport … Snowden [said] … ‘the only way for him to have safety guarantees for temporary stay in Russia is apparently to get an asylum in Russia,’ Tanya Lokshina, a Human Rights Watch representative who attended the meeting, said in an e-mail. ‘So he is asking for one.’

There was no immediate indication from the Kremlin whether it would grant Mr. Snowden’s request. Russian officials have suggested they would like him to leave Russia, where he fled on June 23 from Hong Kong, one step ahead of an American extradition request. The United States revoked his passport, complicating his effort for further travel and leaving him in geopolitical limbo.

Ms. Lokshina said in her e-mail that Mr. Snowden ‘wants our assistance in getting guarantees of safe passage to Latin America and safety guarantees to stay in Russia until he can travel to Latin America.’

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Mr. Snowden, 30, is wanted by the United States on charges of revealing classified government information about global American surveillance programs.

Click here to read entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/world/europe/snowden-russia-asylum.html