00:38Russia: Press waits for Snowden to arrive in Moscow
Russia: Press waits for Snowden to arrive in Moscow
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is on his way to Moscow on Sunday. Snowden is expected to land at Sheremetyevo International Airport around 17:15 local time (15:15 CET) flying on the Aeroflot SU213 from Hong Kong. He is accompanied by a WikiLeaks legal advisor. On Twitter the organisation says it has assisted Snowden to get "poltical asylum in a democratic country".
The former National Security Contractor fled to Hong Kong after he revealed details about the US surveillance program PRISM to the UK newspaper, The Guardian, in June. US authorities are charging Snowden for three crimes; theft of government property and two offences of espionage. If proven guilty, he faces up to thirty years of imprisonment.
International media report Moscow will not be his final destination. Snowden earlier expressed hope Iceland would grant him asylum because the country's critical stance towards privacy violations. Another possible destination could be Ecuador, who already granted asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Russian sources report a ticket in Snowden's name has been booked for Cuba via the Russian airline Aeroflot, where from there Snowden could take another flight to Caracas.
00:38Russia: Press waits for Snowden to arrive in Moscow
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is on his way to Moscow on Sunday. Snowden is expected to land at Sheremetyevo International Airport around 17:15 local time (15:15 CET) flying on the Aeroflot SU213 from Hong Kong. He is accompanied by a WikiLeaks legal advisor. On Twitter the organisation says it has assisted Snowden to get "poltical asylum in a democratic country".
The former National Security Contractor fled to Hong Kong after he revealed details about the US surveillance program PRISM to the UK newspaper, The Guardian, in June. US authorities are charging Snowden for three crimes; theft of government property and two offences of espionage. If proven guilty, he faces up to thirty years of imprisonment.
International media report Moscow will not be his final destination. Snowden earlier expressed hope Iceland would grant him asylum because the country's critical stance towards privacy violations. Another possible destination could be Ecuador, who already granted asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Russian sources report a ticket in Snowden's name has been booked for Cuba via the Russian airline Aeroflot, where from there Snowden could take another flight to Caracas.