Edward Snowden heads for Ecuador after flight to Russia leaves authorities in various countries amazed and infuriated …
Edward Snowden was five hours into his flight from Hong Kong, having already been served one of two hot meals, when news of his departure to Moscow began to electrify media organisations all over the world.
The Hong Kong authorities waited until Snowden was safely out of Chinese airspace before sending out a short press release that confirmed the intelligence whistle-blower had been allowed to leave on Aeroflot flight SU213, bound for Russia.
The 30-year-old had not been stopped on his way to Chek Lap Kok airport, and was allowed to slip away on a hot and humid morning, despite American demands that he be arrested and extradited to face trial for espionage offences.
The reason?
The Americans had mucked up the legal paperwork, the authorities claimed in a statement released at 4.05pm local time.
Hong Kong had no choice but to let the 30-year-old leave for “a third country through a lawful and normal channel”.
If the sudden “discovery” of a flaw in legal proceedings prompted sighs of relief around the island and across the rest of China, there would have been sharp intakes of breath in Washington and London, where diplomats and intelligence officials had been hoping the net around Snowden was finally tightening.
A fortnight into a series of revelations that have embarrassed and infuriated the National Security Agency and Britain’s GCHQ, their target was on the move again, heading, it seems, to central or south America, and potentially beyond the reach of authorities that could try to shut him up.
The escape from Hong Kong was another audacious move from Snowden, who went to ground a week ago and has not been seen since.
It was choreographed with the help of WikiLeaks, whose legal director is Baltasar Garzón, the former Spanish judge who enraged the British government by issuing an international warrant for the arrest in the UK of former Chilean president General Augusto Pinochet. “The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr Snowden’s rights and protecting him as a person,” Garzón said.
Once on board the Airbus A330-300 …
