Spy Program Documents, Faces Hard Choices While in Hiding
Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee who leaked top-secret
documents about U.S. surveillance programs, has few options to stay one
step ahead of the authorities while in apparent hiding.
One
possibility is to seek asylum in a place that does not have an
extradition pact with the United States — there are a few in Asia a
short flight away from Hong Kong where he was last spotted, but none
where he is guaranteed refuge.
On Tuesday the 29-year-old
Snowden's whereabouts were unknown, a day after he checked out of a
trendy hotel in the Chinese territory of Hong Kong. But large photos of
his face were splashed on most Hong Kong newspapers with headlines such
as "Deep Throat Hides in HK," and "World's Most Wanted Man Breaks Cover
in Hong Kong."
The coverage is likely to increase the chances of him being recognized
although he could still blend with the city's tens of thousands of
expatriates from the United States, Britain, Australia and Europe.
If and when the Justice Department charges him — and it's not certain
when that will be — its next step will likely be to ask the
International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, for a
provisional request to arrest him pending extradition to the United
States.
Assuming that Snowden is still in Hong Kong, the
judicial proceedings for an extradition request could take a year, and
once completed it would be up to Hong Kong's leader, known as the chief
executive, to decide on handing over Snowden, said Michael Blanchflower,
a Hong Kong lawyer with three decades of experience in extradition
cases.
"Ultimately it is his decision," he said.
But
even if the chief executive allows the extradition, the fugitive can
request a judicial review and those decisions could be appealed up
through three court levels, Blanchflower said.
Although a
semiautonomous part of China, the former British colony has an
independent justice system based on the British legal structure.
One
option for Snowden would be to claim he is the object of political
persecution, and fight the issue in the courts to avoid extradition. He
could argue that he would be subject to cruel and humiliating treatment
in the United States. Hong Kong changed its regulations six months ago
to require that a court consider cruel and humiliating treatment and not
simply torture when considering extradition requests.
It's
up to "the Chief Executive to determine whether the offence is one
that's of a political character, in which case the extradition is
blocked," said Hong Kong-based lawyer, Tim Parker.
However,
the strategy carries considerable risk because the U.S. could simply
provide diplomatic assurances that he would not be subject to cruel or
humiliating treatment.
"At that point it would be
difficult for Hong Kong to resist deporting him," said Patricia Ho, a
Hong Kong lawyer who specializes in asylum and refugee claims.
But
as things stand now, there is nothing to prevent Snowden from traveling
to a destination of his choice — to one of the handful of nearby
jurisdictions or countries that do not have extradition treaties with
the United States.
One of the Asian countries without an American treaty is China, but CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reports
some analysts believe China is unlikely to want to jeopardize its
relationship with Washington over someone it would consider of little
political interest. Snowden himself has given no indication that he is
prepared to cooperate with any foreign intelligence service, including
China's.
China's state media has confined its coverage of
the Snowden affair to factual reports, and on online social media,
China's relatively unfettered venue for public discourse, comments have
been largely muted.
"People in China are used to not
having security and privacy on the internet, so this does not come as a
big surprise," Peking University journalism professor Hu Yong said in an
interview. Official media, Hu said, would "try not to focus too much on
how wrong the practice is, or whether the leaker is right or wrong.
They will use the news to highlight that China is not the only country
with such practices."
Another Asian flight possibility
for Snowden is the self-governing island of Taiwan, which split from
China in 1949 after a protracted civil war, and since 1979, has not had
formal diplomatic relations with the U.S.
In lieu of a formal extradition treaty, American extraction requests to Taiwan are examined on a case by case basis.
An
official at the de facto U.S. Embassy in Taipei — the American
Institute in Taiwan — said Taiwan has generally been cooperative on the
extradition issue.
"Taipei has so far been pretty good on
responding to our requests," the official said, speaking on condition
of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Also,
any attempt by Snowden to come to Taiwan could prove extremely
embarrassing to the government of Ma Ying-jeou, which while doing its
best to improve relations with China, also seeks to maintain close ties
with the United States, its major security backer. An official at the
Justice Ministry said Tuesday there were no indications at all that
Snowden would make any attempt to land on the island.
Aside
from numerous flights from Hong Kong's busy international airport,
Snowden could take an hour-long high speed ferry ride to Macau, also a
semiautonomous region of China. From Macau he could hop over to
Guangdong province in mainland China.
Beyond Taiwan and
China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and North Korea are also theoretical
destinations for Snowden, because they lack extradition treaties with
the U.S. But the communist or authoritarian systems they share make them
unlikely destinations for a man who has gone to considerable lengths to
portray his decision to reveal National Security Agency surveillance
programs as an act of conscience.
Outside of Asia,
Snowden might also consider seeking asylum in countries like Iceland and
Russia. According to the Kommersant Daily, Moscow has said it might
provide asylum. But Russia is also an authoritarian nation, so there is
no guarantee that Snowden would accept any offer that Moscow rendered.
