Snowden Seeks Asylum

National Security Agency (NSA) Leaker Edward Snowden may have to find other options for his asylum after withdrawing his application for an asylum in Russia and Ecuador’s refusal to grant him his request unless appealed within the Ecuadorian territory.

Snowden & Obama Demonstration in Berlin
Mike Herbst/flickr

The Russian government has offered him a safe haven but with one condition: he must not divulge further information that will bring harm to the U.S., which lead him to revoke his application.

WikiLeaks reported that he has filed 21 requests for asylum in various nations. Some of these countries have bilateral extradition treaties with the U.S. while others seem undetermined to jeopardize their partnerships with the U.S. government.

Snowden said he is now a "stateless" person when the U.S. cancelled his passport. He is now stuck in Moscow after fleeing from Hong Kong. One of his top choices for asylum would have been Ecuador. Ecuador rejected the trade agreement with the U.S following Snowden’s application for asylum. However, President Rafael Correa said assisting the whistleblower’s getaway from Hong Kong to Moscow was a “mistake.”

To this point, his applications were dismissed by Germany, India, Poland, Finland, Ireland, and Brazil. Other countries like Austria, Norway Spain, and Ecuador may consider his request but requires him to be on their soil to apply. Majority of the states have yet to formally react on his plea, including China, Cuba, France, Italy, Iceland, Nicaragua, and Switzerland.

Bolivia and Venezuela will possibly offer him asylum but both countries have not received any applications from him.

In an interview with Russia Today, Bolivian President Evo Morales said that Bolivia may consider granting him asylum. "If there were a request, of course we would be willing to debate and consider the idea," Morales told Spanish language RT Actualidad.

Meanwhile, Dutch Security and Justice Secretary Fred Teeven told Dutch news agency Novum that Snowden's request to the Netherlands will unlikely be granted if he is in a foreign country.

Sources: Time World, The Guardian