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Journalism of Courage
Edward Snowden,the former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about US surveillance programmes,has few options to stay one step ahead of the authorities while in apparent hiding.
One possibility is to seek asylum in a place that does not have an extradition pact with United States there are a few a short flight away from Hong Kong where he was last spotted,but none where he is guaranteed refuge.
The coverage is likely to increase the chances of him being recognized although he could still blend with the citys tens of thousands of expatriates from United States,Britain,Australia,Europe.
If and when the Justice Department charges him and its not certain when that will be its next step will likely be to ask the International Criminal Police Organization,or Interpol,for a provisional request to arrest him pending extradition to the United States.
Assuming that Snowden is still in Hong Kong,judicial proceedings for an extradition request could take a year,and once completed it would be up to Hong Kongs leader,known as the chief executive,to decide on handing over Snowden,said Michael Blanchflower,a Hong Kong lawyer with three decades of experience in extradition cases.
One option for Snowden would be to claim he is the object of political persecution,and fight the issue in the courts to avoid extradition.
But as things stand now,there is nothing to prevent Snowden from traveling to a destination of his choice.
One of the Asian countries without a US treaty is China,though there is no guarantee Beijing would want to risk a confrontation with the United States by taking Snowden in.
Another Asian flight possibility for Snowden is the self-governing island of Taiwan,which split from China in 1949 after a protracted civil war,and since 1979,has not had formal diplomatic relations with the US.
Vietnam,Laos,Cambodia and North Korea are also theoretical destinations for Snowden,because they lack extradition treaties with the United States.
