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| N.S.A. Leaker Leaves Hong Kong on Flight to Moscow | N.S.A. Leaker Leaves Hong Kong on Flight to Moscow |
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| HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government announced on Sunday afternoon that it had allowed the departure from its territory of Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has acknowledged disclosing classified documents about United States government surveillance of Internet and telephone communications around the world. | HONG KONG — The Hong Kong government announced on Sunday afternoon that it had allowed the departure from its territory of Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has acknowledged disclosing classified documents about United States government surveillance of Internet and telephone communications around the world. |
| The government statement said that Hong Kong had informed the United States of Mr. Snowden’s departure. | The government statement said that Hong Kong had informed the United States of Mr. Snowden’s departure. |
| A Moscow-based reservations agent at Aeroflot, Russia’s national airline, said that Mr. Snowden was aboard flight SU213 to Moscow, with a scheduled arrival there a little after 5 p.m. Moscow time. The reservations agent said that Mr. Snowden was traveling on a one-way ticket to Moscow. | A Moscow-based reservations agent at Aeroflot, Russia’s national airline, said that Mr. Snowden was aboard flight SU213 to Moscow, with a scheduled arrival there a little after 5 p.m. Moscow time. The reservations agent said that Mr. Snowden was traveling on a one-way ticket to Moscow. |
| Mr. Snowden's final destination was unclear. The ticket out of Hong Kong did not appear to include a destination beyond Moscow, the Aeroflot agent said, while cautioning that Mr. Snowden might have a separate reservation or ticket. Mr. Snowden is traveling with one other person, with the surname Harrison, but the agent declined to release the other traveler’s first name, saying that she did not have the authorization to do so. The Hong Kong Bar Association Web site does not list any lawyers with the family name Harrison. | |
| WikiLeaks, the organization that released extensive classified American diplomatic communications three years ago, said in a statement on its Twitter feed that it had “assisted Mr. Snowden’s political asylum in a democratic country, travel papers” and safe exit from Hong Kong. WikiLeaks did not identify the country; Mr. Snowden had previously expressed an interest in going to Iceland, a country with a history of strongly defending Internet freedoms. | |
| In a follow-up Twitter posting at 5:20 a.m. New York time, WikiLeaks said that, “Mr. Snowden is currently over Russian airspace accompanied by WikiLeaks legal advisers.” A close adviser to Julian Assange, who orchestrated the release of the diplomatic cables three years ago, is named Sarah Harrison, prompting speculation that she was the Harrison on the flight with Mr. Snowden. | |
| Mr. Snowden’s departure is a setback for the United States, which had been pressing Hong Kong to surrender him to American law enforcement officials. The Hong Kong government said on Sunday, in its first detailed statement about Mr. Snowden, that the United States had made a legal request for the issue of a provisional warrant of arrest against Mr. Snowden, but that the Hong Kong government had concluded that the request “did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.” | |
| The statement said that Hong Kong had requested more information from the United States but had not received it. Because the government “has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong,” the statement said. | The statement said that Hong Kong had requested more information from the United States but had not received it. Because the government “has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong,” the statement said. |
| The United States consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment, referring questions to the State Department in Washington. | The United States consulate in Hong Kong declined to comment, referring questions to the State Department in Washington. |
| The statement also said that the Hong Kong government had written to the United States government to ask for clarification about media reports that Mr. Snowden had released documents showing that United States government agencies had hacked computer systems here, adding that the Hong Kong government, “will continue to follow up on the matter so as to protect the legal rights of the people of Hong Kong.” | |
| Late Saturday, a Hong Kong newspaper, The South China Morning Post, reported additional details of the N.S.A.'s spying on Hong Kong and China, apparently based on an interview with Mr. Snowden on June 12. Mr. Snowden told the newspaper that the N.S.A. had tapped into Chinese mobile phone companies to read millions of text messages, hacked dozens of computers at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University and other computers operated by Pacnet, a major telecommunications company with headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore. | |
| While there was no independent confirmation of the claims, all the operations described by Mr. Snowden are consistent with the N.S.A.'s aggressive monitoring of foreign communications. And the newspaper’s report could win Mr. Snowden more public support in China and Hong Kong. | |
| In Moscow, Dmitri S. Peskov, a spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, said the Kremlin had not been informed of Mr. Snowden’s plans to travel to Russia. | |
| “I don’t know if he is coming with a visa or without a visa,” Mr. Peskov said. “We are not tracing his movements. I am not sure if he is coming. If he is coming, we will wait and see.” | “I don’t know if he is coming with a visa or without a visa,” Mr. Peskov said. “We are not tracing his movements. I am not sure if he is coming. If he is coming, we will wait and see.” |
| He said if Mr. Snowden applies for asylum in Russia, his application would be considered, adding that every application is considered. | He said if Mr. Snowden applies for asylum in Russia, his application would be considered, adding that every application is considered. |
| “There is a procedure, and it will be applied,” he said. “If there is an application, it is going to be considered. If there is no application, we will do what is prescribed by law will be performed.” | “There is a procedure, and it will be applied,” he said. “If there is an application, it is going to be considered. If there is no application, we will do what is prescribed by law will be performed.” |
| Asked what the law prescribes in the latter case, he said, “you’d have to ask the police about that.” | Asked what the law prescribes in the latter case, he said, “you’d have to ask the police about that.” |
| He said Mr. Snowden’s case was not fundamentally a concern of the Russian government. | He said Mr. Snowden’s case was not fundamentally a concern of the Russian government. |
| Whether Mr. Snowden would try to remain in Russia or would catch a connecting flight was unclear. His supporters, including some associated with the WikiLeaks, had earlier approached officials in Iceland to inquire about whether he might be granted asylum there. A spokesman for Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson of Iceland said on Sunday that the government had not heard from Mr. Snowden's representatives since two informal conversations last week. | |
| "To my knowledge he’s not coming here," the spokesman, Johannes Thor Skulason, said. | |
| Mr. Snowden is reportedly carrying four laptop computers with a cornucopia of American intelligence documents that he downloaded to a thumb drive this spring while working in Hawaii for the National Security Agency as an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton. The Guardian newspaper of Britain has already disclosed a week ago that Mr. Snowden provided the newspaper with documents showing that during a conference in London in 2009, the United States was able to access the communications of Dmitri A. Medvedev, then the Russian president and now the prime minister — a disclosure that will almost certainly cause Russia to review its codes and other procedures for top leaders. | Mr. Snowden is reportedly carrying four laptop computers with a cornucopia of American intelligence documents that he downloaded to a thumb drive this spring while working in Hawaii for the National Security Agency as an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton. The Guardian newspaper of Britain has already disclosed a week ago that Mr. Snowden provided the newspaper with documents showing that during a conference in London in 2009, the United States was able to access the communications of Dmitri A. Medvedev, then the Russian president and now the prime minister — a disclosure that will almost certainly cause Russia to review its codes and other procedures for top leaders. |
| Dmitri V. Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said he considered it likely that Mr. Snowden would remain in Russia, a country that is increasingly positioning itself as a protector of people like Mr. Assange, whom Western governments wish to prosecute. | Dmitri V. Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said he considered it likely that Mr. Snowden would remain in Russia, a country that is increasingly positioning itself as a protector of people like Mr. Assange, whom Western governments wish to prosecute. |
| “I don’t think there is any other country that would stand up to U.S. pressure, which will be tremendous,” Mr. Trenin said. “The Chinese don’t want to spoil their relationship with the United States. Russia is sometimes embracing conflict with the U.S.” | “I don’t think there is any other country that would stand up to U.S. pressure, which will be tremendous,” Mr. Trenin said. “The Chinese don’t want to spoil their relationship with the United States. Russia is sometimes embracing conflict with the U.S.” |
| He noted that Russia Today, the state-financed English-language cable news channel, has become a platform for figures like Mr. Assange, who are unlikely to appear through mainstream Western news outlets. | He noted that Russia Today, the state-financed English-language cable news channel, has become a platform for figures like Mr. Assange, who are unlikely to appear through mainstream Western news outlets. |
| “Russia is turning into a haven — virtually, intellectually and physically — for those who have an ax to grind with the West, who are whistle-blowers or have problems with Western authorities,” he said. “It’s the only country in the world that at this point can afford it, or thinks it can afford it.” Mr. Trenin said that even if Mr. Snowden transfers in Moscow and continues to another destination, like Havana or Caracas, Russia will still have played a central role in his flight from prosecution. | “Russia is turning into a haven — virtually, intellectually and physically — for those who have an ax to grind with the West, who are whistle-blowers or have problems with Western authorities,” he said. “It’s the only country in the world that at this point can afford it, or thinks it can afford it.” Mr. Trenin said that even if Mr. Snowden transfers in Moscow and continues to another destination, like Havana or Caracas, Russia will still have played a central role in his flight from prosecution. |
| “The minute Aeroflot got the information that a certain person by the name of Snowden is about to buy a ticket, this information would be immediately transferred to the quote-unquote competent authorities,” he said. “It would be a political decision to give him a ticket or deny him a ticket.” | “The minute Aeroflot got the information that a certain person by the name of Snowden is about to buy a ticket, this information would be immediately transferred to the quote-unquote competent authorities,” he said. “It would be a political decision to give him a ticket or deny him a ticket.” |
| Mr. Snowden’s departure could limit any damage to Chinese-American relations from his sojourn here, although American officials are likely to press ahead with their inquiries into what role, if any, China may have played in his initial choice of Hong Kong. | Mr. Snowden’s departure could limit any damage to Chinese-American relations from his sojourn here, although American officials are likely to press ahead with their inquiries into what role, if any, China may have played in his initial choice of Hong Kong. |
| For Hong Kong, his departure means that the city can avoid a painful tug-of-war over whether to surrender him, with the United States demanding him back while nationalists in mainland China and some human rights activists in Hong Kong were calling for him to be allowed to remain. | For Hong Kong, his departure means that the city can avoid a painful tug-of-war over whether to surrender him, with the United States demanding him back while nationalists in mainland China and some human rights activists in Hong Kong were calling for him to be allowed to remain. |
| Regina Ip, a lawmaker and former secretary of security in Hong Kong, predicted that the United States would initially be annoyed with Hong Kong for letting Mr. Snowden leave. “I think your government will be upset for a while, but I hope that they will shrug it off, because our government acted in accordance with the law,” she said. “Our government officials can breathe a sign of relief.” | Regina Ip, a lawmaker and former secretary of security in Hong Kong, predicted that the United States would initially be annoyed with Hong Kong for letting Mr. Snowden leave. “I think your government will be upset for a while, but I hope that they will shrug it off, because our government acted in accordance with the law,” she said. “Our government officials can breathe a sign of relief.” |
| But even though Mr. Snowden left Hong Kong, he may still have handed China a considerable diplomatic and public relations coup. The state-run Xinhua news agency said in a commentary late Sunday morning, before news of his flight from Hong Kong, that Mr. Snowden’s disclosures had undermined the Washington’s argument that the Chinese government was guilty of widespread computer hacking. | But even though Mr. Snowden left Hong Kong, he may still have handed China a considerable diplomatic and public relations coup. The state-run Xinhua news agency said in a commentary late Sunday morning, before news of his flight from Hong Kong, that Mr. Snowden’s disclosures had undermined the Washington’s argument that the Chinese government was guilty of widespread computer hacking. |
| His claims “demonstrate that the United States, which has long been trying to play innocent as a victim of cyber attacks, has turned out to be the biggest villain in our age,” the commentary said. | |
Keith Bradsher reported from Hong Kong and Ellen Barry from Moscow. | Keith Bradsher reported from Hong Kong and Ellen Barry from Moscow. Sarah Lyall contributed reporting from London. |