Snowden Seeks Asylum In 20+ Nations; Gives Up On Russia
With help from a WikiLeaks lawyer, the young American who admits he leaked information about National Security Agency surveillance programs has now asked more than 20 nations to give him asylum.
But as NPR's Jean Cochran said early Tuesday on the network's newscast, Edward Snowden's chances of getting asylum from any nation in Europe "do not look promising. ... Poland has turned him down. Officials in Germany, Norway, Austria and Switzerland say he cannot apply from abroad."
There was also word from India's foreign minister early Tuesday that "we have concluded that we see no reason to accede to the Snowden request," Reuters reports.
What's more, Snowden has reportedly given up already on one nation he applied to — Russia. He's in his ninth day of legal limbo in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. But as CNN writes:
"Snowden has abandoned his effort to seek asylum in Russia after President Vladimir Putin warned that he would have to stop leaking information about U.S. surveillance programs if he wanted to stay, a Russian official said Tuesday."