Fugitive Snowden slips out of Moscow airport for 'secure' base (updated)

[ProSense]

Last edited Thu Aug 1, 2013, 10:00 AM - Edit history (1)

Fugitive Snowden slips out of Moscow airport for 'secure' base

By Timothy Heritage and Alissa de Carbonnel

(Reuters) - Fugitive former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden slipped quietly out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after Russia granted him temporary asylum, ending more than a month in limbo in the transit area...the American, who is wanted in the United States for leaking details of secret government intelligence programs, had gone to a secure location which would remain secret...Snowden managed to slip away in a taxi without being spotted. Grainy images of his passport showed he had been granted asylum for a year from July 31.

"He is the most wanted man on planet Earth. What do you think he is going to do? He has to think about his personal security. I cannot tell you where he is going," his lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told Reuters.

"I put him in a taxi 15 to 20 minutes ago and gave him his certificate on getting refugee status in the Russian Federation," he said. "He can live wherever he wants in Russia. It's his personal choice."

He said Snowden was not going to stay at any embassy in Moscow, although three Latin American countries have offered to shelter him. Snowden was well, he added.

- more -

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/01/us-usa-security-snowden-russia-idUSBRE9700N120130801

Interesting.

Updated to add: Edward Snowden leaves Moscow airport - live coverage

Alec Luhn in Moscow has more on what lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told journalists at Sheremetyevo airport this afternoon.

Kucherena said that the Federal Migration Service had granted Snowden temporary asylum for one year. He said that he had passed documents confirming this status from the migration service to Snowden, who left the airport for a “safe place".

“This is a certificate that gives him the right to temporary asylum on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Kucherena said, holding up a copy of the document.

A security official said Snowden had crossed the border at about 3.30pm, and a source at the airport confirmed he had left the airport, state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

According to Kucherena, the whistleblower left the airport alone in an ordinary taxi. He declined to provide details on where Snowden was located, citing safety concerns.

“Since he is the most hunted person in the world, he will address the question of security today,” Kucherena told journalists.

The former National Security Agency employee will himself choose his place of residence and forms of protection.

Although Snowden had originally said he intended to eventually move on to South America, more recently he had indicated that he wants to stay in Russia for the long term. Kucherena has previously said Snowden had been reading classic Russian literature and learning the language. In an interview today with Rossiya 24 television, he said Snowden had “no plans” to leave Russia for another country.

The whistleblower's father Lon Snowden had reportedly been planning to visit his son, and Kucherena said yesterday that he was sending an invitation to the elder Snowden so he could obtain a Russian visa. Kucherena told Rossiya 24 television Thursday that he would be speaking to Lon Snowden later that day to arrange his visit.

WikiLeaks announced that Snowden would make a statement Thursday about whistleblower Bradley Manning, who was found guilty of espionage Wednesday.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/01/edward-snowden-leaves-moscow-airport-live#block-51fa6544e4b07bfdea9cd57b

[treestar]

1. I thought he was free and safe in Russia?

His followers are going to say there are American spies in Russia who will be after him.

[ProSense]

5. Russia is in full control of Snowden. n/t

[cali]

2. time for him to take refuge in a friendly embassy

[flamingdem]

12. This will not be encouraged by his handlers nt

[cali]

21. wow. so you not only know who his "handlers" are but what they think.

color me ever so impressed by your inside sources.

[1awake]

3. Everyone backing the NSA side should be very happy...

I mean, he is in Russia where he choose safety over freedom didn't he?

[Major Hogwash]

4. This is all Putin has.

Now, he's worthless.
Not to just us, but to the rest of the world.

But then, he's former KGB, so I didn't expect a different outcome.

[ProSense]

6. Updated OP. n/t

[warrprayer]

7. Go Edward!

[ProSense]

10. LOL! n/t

[warrprayer]

11. he will be a target for the rest of his life.

think it doesn't happen? Remember this guy?

Georgi Ivanov Markov (Bulgarian: Георги Иванов Марков; March 1, 1929 – September 11, 1978) was a Bulgarian dissident writer.

Markov originally worked as a novelist and playwright in his native country, then governed by a communist regime under Chairman Todor Zhivkov, until his defection from Bulgaria in 1969. After relocating to the West, he worked as a broadcaster and journalist for the BBC World Service, the US-funded Radio Free Europe, and Germany's Deutsche Welle. Markov used such forums to conduct a campaign of sarcastic criticism against the incumbent Bulgarian regime. As a result of this, it has been speculated that the Bulgarian government may have decided to silence him, and may have asked the KGB for help.[1] He died as a result of an incident on a London street when a micro-engineered pellet containing ricin was fired into his leg via an umbrella wielded by someone associated with the Bulgarian secret police.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Markov

If their side does it, you can be almost certain ours would.

[snooper2]

8. I wonder if they'll hook him up with one of these

[warrprayer]

13. she's BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Don't make fun of her!!!

[flamingdem]

18. Is that a toy?

cute lil thing, must not fare well in accidents though.

[warrprayer]

20. and from what I remember

... forget about heat in the winter. Remember the heater in the old Beetles? (I'm really dating myself here)

[Scurrilous]

9. Well, I'm glad that's over....

[flamingdem]

17. It ain't over until Comrade Eddie sings

and I mean like a canary!

[Scurrilous]

19. They're torturing him with Russian literature...

...the dropout will crack.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. Alternate headline: Fox continues to elude hounds.

[warrprayer]

16. it is the spy story of a generation