Whistleblower escapes from Hong Kong to Moscow on a commercial flight despite a formal US extradition request.
Edward Snowden, aged 29, escaped Hong Kong from being captured by the US for leaking the NSA documents. In a move that appeared to bewilder the White House, Snowden was allowed to flee Hong Kong on Sunday morning and head to Moscow on a commercial flight despite a formal request from the US to have the 29-year-old detained and extradited to face espionage charges for a series of leaks about the National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain’s spy centre, GCHQ.
Knowing it was only a matter of time before he was found, Snowden checked out at lunchtime on Monday and went underground.
The Ecuadorian ambassador, Patricio Chávez, is in pursue of Snowden, as he has applied for political asylum. Ecuador is paying rather an interest in him and his demands to asylum him. This is not a surprise seeing as the country has also given shelter to the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange.
So, is he whistleblower or traitor? That debate is still raging.
