Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Tuesday, December 10, 2024 76° Today's Paper


Top News

NSA leaker possibly seeks asylum in several countries

a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S. surveillance programs

WASHINGTON » WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has possibly applied for asylum in other countries besides Ecuador.

Assange says he cannot go into detail about Snowden’s whereabouts except to say that he is safe.

Snowden left Hong Kong Sunday to travel to Ecuador through Moscow and other points to avoid extradition to the U.S. He is facing espionage charges stemming from his disclosure of U.S. surveillance programs that collect phone records and online data in the name of foreign intelligence.

Snowden was not on a flight to Cuba today as expected. Ecuador says it is considering its asylum requests.

Ecuador granted Assange asylum last year. Assange is staying at the country’s embassy in England to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning about sex crime allegations.

Assange’s lawyer has said Snowden does not have many options for asylum.

Comments are closed.