I wouldn't worry too much about it, it is all politics and all selective. A lot of Russians fled to the UK to elude justice in Russia. Whether they are political refugees or indeed committed crimes back home is another matter, but London is certainly a safe harbour for many of them.
For which crime is polonium poisoning a legal sentence? Because if it's not a legal sentence, then it is not a matter of eluding "justice".
We have two justice systems in the UK, one for you and me, one for people with more money than god.
Then again, if Snowden were hypothetically spying for the PRC, Hong Kong would be the most logical place to seek protection. In this scenario the PRC would credibly protect him from the US, and European liberal democracies would not.
How do you make the jump from leaking the existence of a massive secret surveillance network within the US to him being a spy?? What reason would a spy have to share this info with the public?? Sounds like FUD to me...
This is the smear they're running already - have seen him referred to as a "Chinese spy" a couple of times already. I'm sure they'll get Greenwald on charges of being his cohort for China.
what would really be the best place to hideout? are there any countries where he would be free of us extradition threats given his high profile nature?
I am baffled too, given that Ecuador offered Assange asylum wouldn't that be the most logical choice? I quick "vacation" down to Costa Rica and overland to Ecuador if you want to avoid raising suspicions and travel restrictions.
Here's a cynical interpretation: Hong Kong makes zero sense given that they are a) within Chinese sphere of influence and b) frequently extradites to the US. He's go other sensitive documents he may sell to the Chinese in exchange for money and sanctuary. So maybe that was the plan all along. Everyone focuses on the NSA wire-tapping scandal (which, honestly, I think everyone assumed was happening for years), and he g…
I don't think it makes sense. Like he said in his interview, he could have just sold the stuff he already leaked. Why then would he bother with the whole trouble of very publicly becoming America's Most Wanted? He sounded pretty sincere about doing this for the good of the American people. He claims he made a concerted effort to not reveal any information that could harm individuals, which appears to hold up. I would…
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing to go on. Edward's disclosure was responsible, and certainly served a public good, and so far he should be lauded for it. It was a brave act. I understand him fleeing and seeking asylum in another country given that there is little chance he would get a 'fair' trial here (as has been shown by the way Bradley Manning and Aaron Swartz have been treated)... but of all places ... China??!? He's not an idiot, so he must have thought this through but it makes no sense.
This is contradicted somewhat by a different source. This one says Hong Kong is a very good place to seek asylum right now, because there is a moratorium on deporting asylum-seekers: But there is at least one reason it could be incredibly shrewd: Hong Kong's asylum system is currently stuck in a state of limbo that could allow Snowden to exploit a loophole and buy some valuable time. Simon Young, director of the Cent…
The difference here is that Snowden is going to be wanted for criminal charges, not political ones, so his case for pleading asylum is very, very weak.
It's like someone being accused of murder and trying to seek asylum in another country (I'm not saying that what he did is identical to murder, just pointing out what "criminal" means here).
Have we seen a news report yet about how Snowden traveled to Hong Kong? His choice of destination may have been dictated by where he could fly on a nonstop airline flight from Hawaii, where he was last based. His travel documents, because he was contracting for the NSA, may already have had restrictions on which destinations he could fly to. (Such restrictions have been routine for NSA employees for more than a gener…
>>Airlines check travel documents before you board a plane on an international flight, because the airline is responsible for returning you at no charge to you if you are denied entry for lack of proper travel documents at the border of your destination.
This explains the sometimes seemingly draconian photo ID checks by airlines at the gate. Thanks for clearing this up -- I didn't realize that the return cost was borne by the carrier. Makes much more sense.
This guy is not dumb by any stretch of the imagination. He also didn't make this decision overnight. If I had to guess, he planned this all very well with all considerations in mind . The fact that he noted his location at all is interesting in that he obviously doesn't want to get caught. So why bring it up? He could have just as easily left that detail anonymous. Makes me wonder if there's a tactic in mind that we…
It's unlikely that he'd be able to hide anywhere in the world at this point without at least someone finding him. At least by saying where he is people will notice if he goes "missing".
Also consider, if he hadn't shared his location he might've just disappeared as soon as he made an anonymous statement over the internet. This way he gets to talk to the press and establishes his location clearly.