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US whistleblower Edward Snowden 'will fight extradition' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Edward Snowden, the ex-CIA employee who leaked secret US surveillance details, has vowed to fight any attempt to extradite him from Hong Kong. | Edward Snowden, the ex-CIA employee who leaked secret US surveillance details, has vowed to fight any attempt to extradite him from Hong Kong. |
Mr Snowden told the South China Morning Post that he was "neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American". | Mr Snowden told the South China Morning Post that he was "neither traitor nor hero. I'm an American". |
It is the first interview he has given since disappearing from his hotel room in Hong Kong on Monday. | |
His leaks led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data. | His leaks led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data. |
Mr Snowden left Hawaii for Hong Kong shortly before the highly sensitive leaks surfaced. | Mr Snowden left Hawaii for Hong Kong shortly before the highly sensitive leaks surfaced. |
"I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality," Mr Snowden told the Post. | "I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality," Mr Snowden told the Post. |
"My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate." | |
Prism | |
US officials have confirmed the existence of a secret programme to draw data from the internet, codenamed Prism. | |
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence gave details of the programme last week, after Mr Snowden's leaks led to a series of articles in the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers. | |
According to the office's statement, Prism is simply an internal computer system, and not a data-mining programme. | |
However, such data seizures could break the laws of other countries, and could also break US law if they accidentally capture communications of American citizens. |