Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old former National Security Agency contractor responsible for exposing two classified Internet and phone surveillance programs used to target terrorists, is en route to Ecuador from Hong Kong as he seeks asylum from the U.S. government.
Wikileaks announced Snowden’s intentions in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Stating that he left Hong Kong legally, the organization said that Snowden “is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks.” Snowden sought out the organization, said Wikileaks, and requested that it use “its legal expertise and experience to secure his safety.”
“Once Mr Snowden arrives in Ecuador, his request will be formally processed,” said the organization.
Ecuador, an ally of Iran, announced on June 18 that it would consider a request for asylum from Snowden, should he file a request.
The Ecuadorian embassy in London has been an asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for over a year, where he has been staving off what he and his supporters believe to be a campaign by the U.S. government to extradite him.
“The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr Snowden’s rights and protecting him as a person,” Baltasar Garzon, legal director of Wikileaks and lawyer for Julian Assange, said in a statement Sunday.
“What is being done to Mr. Snowden and to Mr. Julian Assange — for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest — is an assault against the people,” said Garzon.
Reuters reported Sunday that Snowden was believed to have landed in Moscow Sunday afternoon, and that within 24 hours he would fly on to Cuba and then Venezuela.
The Obama administration, according to the Associated Press, formally charged Snowden on June 14 with “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information,” along with “theft of government property.”
All three charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison each.
The administration also made a formal extradition request to Hong Kong.
Snowden was allowed to leave Hong Kong, the Associated Press reported, because the Hong Kong government deemed that the U.S. government’s request “did not fully comply with legal requirements under Hong Kong law.”