Is Edward Snowden stateless and where can he go?
The US whistleblower has accused Washington of unilaterally revoking his passport, leaving him a stateless person. The Obama administration, however, insists it has only cancelled the validity of Snowden's travel document, not deprived him of citizenship. The US state department has now offered him a "one-entry travel document" to return home – an option unlikely to tempt Snowden to board a US-bound plane.
Making anybody stateless is formally forbidden by the universal declaration of human rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, which declares under article 15 that: "
1) Everyone has the right to a nationality; (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality." Individuals can, however, voluntarily renounce their US citizenship – but they have to turn up in person at a US embassy.
States normally retain full control over airside transit areas. Russia appears to be treating Moscow's Sheremetyevo international airport, where Snowden is believed to be hiding, as beyond its control. Gemma Lindfield, a London barrister specialising in extradition and international law, said: "Russia is taking the view that he has not entered Russian territory. It's finding a reason to do what it wants. The authorities have redefined the space of the airport as international."
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Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, lived in the departure lounge of Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for 18 years. His autobiography, Terminal Man, was later turned into a film, The Terminal. Another Iranian refugee, Zahra Kamalfar, spent 10 months at Sheremetyevo airport before flying on to Canada in 2007. Apart from Julian Assange, who is confined to Ecuador's embassy in London, others trapped in long-term legal limbo have included Archbishop József Mindszenty, the Catholic primate of Hungary, who spent 15 years in the US embassy in Budapest.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/02/edward-snowden-where-can-he-go
