Putin Rules Out Extradition for Snowden in Russia Airport

[flamingdem]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/world/snowden.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia offered the first direct confirmation on Tuesday that Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive former American national security contractor, was in an international transit area at a Moscow airport, and he appeared to rule out American requests for his extradition to the United States.

Speaking at a news conference while on an official visit to Finland, Mr. Putin offered no new information on where Mr. Snowden might be headed from the transit area of Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. But he said Mr. Snowden had broken no Russian laws.

“Mr. Snowden is a free man,” Mr. Putin said, according to Russian news services traveling with him. “The faster he chooses his ultimate destination, the better for us and for him.”
He also said that Russia’s special security services “are not engaged with him and will not be engaged,” despite Mr. Snowden’s trove of American intelligence documents.

“On the territory of the Russian Federation, Mr. Snowden, thank God, did not commit any crime,” Mr. Putin said. “As for the issue of the possibility of extradition,” Mr. Putin said, “we can only send back some foreign nationals to the countries with which we have the relevant international agreements on extradition. With the United States we have no such agreement.”
Mr. Putin spoke hours after the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, chastised the United States for its demands regarding Mr. Snowden, whose successful effort, so far, to elude his American pursuers has captivated global attention, showed the limits of American power and strained American relations with Russia and China. Mr. Snowden flew to Moscow on Sunday from Hong Kong despite an American request that the authorities there arrest him.

[MADem]

1. And so it begins. nt

[Bluzmann57]

2. Where is Snowden getting all this money to travel the world?

I mean it isn't exactly cheap to travel all over the world, even in coach. Either he was able to save a lot of money or someone is bankrolling him.
Just a thought.

[flamingdem]

3. The US govt would surely like to know that

- Aiding and abetting, selling secrets for $ - but it sure looks like he'll slip through their fingers due to Putin's use of the matter to whip up anti-US sentiment in his own country and to settle scores

[Comrade Grumpy]

4. From the US taxpayers?

You know, the ones who ultimately paid his inflated gravy train private contractor salary?

[flamingdem]

7. that too!

I'd like to see the Snowden issue used to curtail exactly that kind of indiscrimate hiring and excess pay of anyone who can hack a 'puter especially foreign nationals!

[SamKnause]

5. Snowden

He paid for all his expenses while in Hong Kong.

Wikileaks has been paying for his expenses since he left Hong Kong.

The information is on the Wikileaks website.

[flamingdem]

8. I don't think that the Wikileaks website is going to tell the truth about where

he's gotten money. Transparency ends when they need to protect themselves or one of their clients

[backwoodsbob]

6. wikileaks

Assange has given SEVERAL statements about it