THE GUARDIAN: Several countries have denied whistleblower's request to seek asylum and others say he must be on their territory to apply
Edward Snowden's hopes of finding refuge from prosecution appeared to be dwindling on Tuesday as country after country denied the US whistleblower's requests to seek political asylum.
Snowden sought political asylum from 21 countries, according toWikiLeaks, passing his requests to Russian officials from his hideaway in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.
Several countries replied with a flat out "no", including Brazil, India, Norway and Poland. "I will not give a positive recommendation," the Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, wrote on his Twitter account.
A spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry tweeted: "Following careful examination, we have concluded that we see no reason to accede to the Snowden request." To add insult to injury, Brazil said it did not feel Snowden's request deserved a response.
An enraged US has warned countries against accepting Snowden, who they are seeking on charges that he violated the espionage act when gathering and leaking classified documents outlining the National Security Agency's surveillance programmes.
Officials from many countries said Snowden would have to be on their territory to properly apply for asylum, a major stumbling block as Snowden has been stripped of his US passport and remains confined inside Sheremetyevo without travel documents. » | Miriam Elder in Moscow | Tuesday, July 02, 2013
