No gift: Snowden lawyer in Hong Kong denies that Russia will hand over whistle-blower to Trump
Robert Tibbo notes that Moscow recently approved a three-year visa extension for Snowden, which means he will be able to stay in country until 2020
Hong Kong barrister Robert Tibbo says reports that Russia may hand over whistle-blower Edward Snowden to the United States as a gift to President Donald Trump are baseless.
“Mr Snowden takes the view that there’s nothing to worry about,” Tibbo told the Sunday Morning Post. The Canadian barrister who represented Snowden when he was in Hong Kong in 2013 said he spoke to the former National Security Agency contractor last weekend.
Snowden was in Hong Kong for about two weeks after he fled from the US. Although he filed a refugee claim in the city, the former contractor who leaked classified documents showing mass surveillance conducted by the US and other governments decided to leave Hong Kong for Moscow en route to Latin America. But because his passport was revoked, he remained stranded in Russia.
“Everybody in the world asks what would happen if Mr Snowden was extradited from Russia and handed to the US,” Tibbo said. But “it’s a complete stretch to report that. Quite frankly, it’s nonsense.”