US whistle-blower Edward Snowden slams Hong Kong government for ‘campaign’ against lawyer of families who housed him
Former intelligence contractor hits out on Twitter after learning of complaints filed against barrister Robert Tibbo
American whistle-blower Edward Snowden has slammed the Hong Kong government online, accusing it of “mounting a campaign” against the lawyer representing the seven asylum seekers who sheltered him in Hong Kong in 2013.
Before boarding a flight that ultimately stranded him in Russia, US National Security Agency contractor Snowden was introduced to the families by their mutual lawyer in Hong Kong. He hid in their homes for a couple of weeks in 2013, after leaking classified documents that revealed surveillance practices by the United States and other governments.
Tibbo claimed on Monday that the local administration had “systematically made efforts” to remove him from the seven’s cases.
According to the lawyer, the director of the Immigration Department wrote to the Duty Lawyer Service, a government-backed legal assistance programme, on July 13, requesting that the office consider the reassignment of a lawyer to the seven asylum seekers.