Exclusive | Hong Kong asylum seekers who sheltered Edward Snowden file refugee claims in Canada
Post learns their lawyers cited poor living conditions and security threats in city
Refugee claims have been filed in Canada on behalf of the asylum seekers who sheltered former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden in Hong Kong in 2013, lawyers involved in the matter revealed yesterday.
The group of three lawyers who filed the claims on January 26, and have worked with Hong Kong-based Canadian barrister Robert Tibbo on the case, are now calling on Canadian immigration minister Ahmed Hussen to use his discretionary powers to expedite the applications.
“Over the course of the past few weeks, we felt compelled to take an additional step forward, so we formally petitioned the Canadian government to take these clients as refugees,” Montreal-based immigration lawyer Marc-André Séguin said.