It appears that Edward Snowden will be seeking temporary asylum in Russia before moving on to Latin America. That is what was revealed today after, in a surprise maneuver, Edward Snowden invited representatives and lawyers from the United Nations, Amnesty International, Transparency International, Human Rights Watch to meet with him in the Moscow Airport, according to RT.
Big news is that #Snowden is applying for political asylum in Russia, despte Putin's condition that he stop publishing. from @TanyaLokshina
— Ellen Barry (@EllenBarryNYT) July 12, 2013
The meeting took place behind a sealed and guarded steal door labeled, “staff only.” The door was surrounded by what appeared to be hundreds of reporters from around the world.
This group was summoned in the wake of growing concerns that Edward Snowden would not be able to each asylum in Latin America, especially after the forced grounding Bolivian President Evo Morales’ plane in Austria under suspicion that Snowden was on board.
Guardian reports coming from Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch via Ellen Berry of the New York Times, say that Snowden has received offers from Venezuela, Russia, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador. Venezuela has made a formal request and Russia’s offer has come under the condition that he must stop leaking secret US documents if he is interested in gaining asylum. Despite this condition, which Snowden expressed some concern over, he plans on staying in Russia until safe passage to Latin America can be guaranteed to him.
Until the release of Edward #Snowden's statement press reportage should be treated with caution.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 12, 2013
He reportedly asked that the human-rights activists to work on convincing Putin to grant him political asylum while he continues to release documents. He also requested that the group in attendance work with the United States government to allow him to seek asylum without interference.
image from inside #Snowden meeting. pic.twitter.com/J7yAnXhKkl
— Ellen Barry (@EllenBarryNYT) July 12, 2013
Pictures have also appeared of him, which you can see above. It his first since The Guarian interviews filmed in Hong Kong over three weeks ago. In the photo, seated to Edward Snowden’s right is Wikileaks legal assistant Sarah Harrison who has been traveling with Snowden since he left Hong Kong.
