Edward Snowden: diplomatic storm swirls as whistleblower seeks asylum in Ecuador

Whistleblower escapes from Hong Kong to Moscow on a commercial flight despite a formal US extradition request Edward Snowden booked on plane from Moscow to Havana – live coverage

Tania Branigan in Hong Kong, Miriam Elder in Moscow and Nick Hopkins

Monda24 June 2013

a series of leaks about the National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain’s spy centre, GCHQ.

Edward Snowden's picture is shown by journalists to passengers arriving in Moscow from Hong Kong. Photograph: Igor Kharitonov/EPA

The intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden will on Monday attempt to complete an audacious escape to the relative safety of South America after his departure from Hong Kong aggravated already fraught diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

In a move that appeared to bewilder the White House, Snowden was allowed to flee Hong Kong on Sunday morning and head to Moscow on a commercial flight despite a formal request from the US to have the 30-year-old detained and extradited to face espionage charges for a series of leaks about the National Security Agency (NSA) and Britain's spy centre, GCHQ.

Edward Snowden Diplomatic Storm Swirls as Whistleblower Seeks Asylum in Ecuador by nelvely