Edward Snowden requests asylum in Ecuador

Edward Snowden

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, during an official visit in Viet Nam, reported that Edward Snowden sought asylum in our country.

“The Ecuadorian Government has received an application for asylum on the part of Edward Snowden”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador through his Twitter account.

Sources from the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry in Quito reported that Patino will offer a press conference in Viet Nam at 19 H 00 local (12 H 00 GMT Monday).

The airline company Aeroflot told to Reuters news agency that the former American agent, Edward Snowden, left Hong Kong in a Russian commercial flight evading an extradition request of the United States, which accuses him of espionage.

The Hong Kong Government, which confirmed his departure, said that it had no “legal basis” to prevent the departure of Snowden since the United States Government, did not deliver  enough information to justify his arrest and extradition.

“Snowden left today voluntarily from Hong Kong to a third country in legal way”, said a spokesman of the Government in a statement.

WikiLeaks said through its Twitter account that Snowden is “in Russian airspace” accompanied by “legal advisors of WikiLeaks”, also said that te organization provided “assistance to the political asylum of Snowden, providing documents and a safe departure from Hong Kong towards a democratic country”.