Media reporters work beside a vehicle of the Ecuadorian Embassy in Moscow, June 23, 2013. According to Russian media reports, Snowden arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday on a commercial flight and the Ecuadorian ambassador in Moscow was waiting for him at the Sheremetyevo airport. (Xinhua/Ding Yuan)
QUITO, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said Sunday that Edward Snowden, former intelligence contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States who is wanted for leaking the PRISM program, has sought asylum in the south American country.
"The government of Ecuador has received an asylum request from Edward Snowden", said Patino briefly on his Twitter account. The minister wrote this in Vietnam, where he is on an official visit.
Although Patino gave no comment on whether the Ecuador government would grant the request, he said previously that his country would consider such a request if Snowden asked.
Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, is wanted by Washington for having leaked U.S. government's spy programs to monitor internet data and phone calls.
According to Russian media reports, Snowden arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on Sunday on a commercial flight and the Ecuadorian ambassador in Moscow was waiting for him at the Sheremetyevo airport.
WikiLeaks, the organization founded by Julian Assange, said in a Sunday statement that Snowden is "bound for Ecuador via a safe route for the purpose of asylum." The WikiLeaks legal team has extended help to preserve Snowden's rights and protect him as a person.
There has been speculations that Snowden might seek asylum in Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba or Iceland.
Assange remains in Ecuador's embassy in London as a political refugee to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for sex allegations. Ecuador granted diplomatic asylum to Assange but the WikiLeaks founder could not leave the embassy since Britain has not extended him a safe pass.
MOSCOW, June 23 (Xinhua) -- An Aeroflot flight reportedly carrying a former National Security Agency contractor sought by the United States for revealing classified surveillance programs landed at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Sunday.
Flight SU213 from Hong Kong landed at Terminal F at 17:05 Moscow time (1305 GMT), but the airport could not verify reports that Edward Snowden was on the plane, airport press officer Roman Genis told Xinhua. Full story
HONG KONG, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong government confirmed Sunday afternoon that U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden had left Hong Kong for a third country.
"Snowden has left Hong Kong through legal and normal means for a third country," the government said in a statement.Full story
BEIJING, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Edward Snowden, a U.S. intelligence contractor who divulged some of the most secretive spying activities of the U.S. government, has put Washington in a really awkward situation.
In the past few months, U.S. politicians and media outlets have thrown out Internet spying accusations one after another against China, trying to make it as one of the biggest perpetrators of Internet spying activities.Full story
WASHINGTON, June 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden and charged him with espionage, The Washington Post reported on Friday on its website.
Snowden, a former defense contractor and leaker of classified surveillance programs of the National Security Agency (NSA), was charged with espionage, theft and conversion of government property, the newspaper quoted U.S. officials as saying.Full story
BEIJING, June 14 (Xinhuanet) - In the past years, the U.S. Government has been blaming other countries for threatening cyber security. However, the recent leakage of the two top-secret U.S. surveillance programs of the National Security Agency (NSA) has smashed the image of the U.S. as a cyber liberty advocate and revealed its hypocrisy.
Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old defense contractor, revealed last week that the NSA is monitoring a wide swath of telephone and Internet activity as part of its counterterrorism efforts.Full story
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