Snowden's next move remains unclear [View all]
Like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Edward Snowden has applied for political asylum in Ecuador. But it will likely take weeks for the country to decide. Meanwhile, Russia and China are facing criticism from the US.
What the world knows thus far about Edward Snowden's life since he checked out of his Hong Kong hotel on June 10 is the stuff of a thriller movie. American authorities have appealed to all countries to arrest the whistleblower, but Snowden has yet to be detained.
The 30-year-old IT expert was last traced at a Moscow airport, but he apparently did not embark, as planned, on a flight to Cuba. If he aims to arrive in Latin America by another route, it might be advantageous for the tempo of his journey to slow down. While Snowden has written a personal letter to Ecuador's President Rafael Correa asking for political asylum, authorities in the South American country want to take their time issuing a response.
"In the case of Julian Assange, it took two months. Perhaps it will take a little longer this time, perhaps a little less," said Jorge Jurado, Ecuador's ambassador to Germany, in an interview with DW in Berlin.
In any case, the ambassador added, the principles contained in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights will serve as the basis for the decision and "not the interests of groups or other countries."
http://www.dw.de/snowdens-next-move-remains-unclear/a-16903378
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