Patino says that any request for asylum made by Snowden would be analyzed
According to the statements of Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, made from London (United Kingdom), Ecuador would “analyze” any request for asylum made by the former CIA agent Edward Snowden, who revealed massive surveillance programs in the U.S. communications.
“If he wants to apply for asylum to the Ecuadorian government, we can do it and, of course, we will work it out,” said Patino before meeting with his British counterpart William Hague to discuss the future of Assange.
Patino said that if Snowden follow the steps of the Australian hacker to seek asylum in Ecuador, the system would consider his request, “responsibly, as we did in the case of Mr. Assange.”
Unusually, it was Assange, who advised Snowden, who branded him a ‘hero’, to take refuge in Russia or South America. It explained in an interview with the Russian network RT.
Snowden, 29, had worked for the powerful U.S. spy agency NSA. It was he who revealed this month to be the source of leaks about secret electronic surveillance program.