Snowden Asylum Request: NSA Leaker Submitted Request To 21 Countries

WikiLeaks, the anti-government secrecy group which has been aiding NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in his attempts to escape apprehension from US law enforcement, says that it helped submit asylum requests to 19 more countries on Monday on Snowden's behalf. The tally of places from which Snowden has asked for protection has now reached 21. But Snowden's odds of getting an offer have looked increasingly slim after Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa, who had denounced Snowden's persecution in strong terms and indicated his government would carefully analyze the fugitive's request, told the Guardian that he would have to reach Ecuadorian territory before the request could be considered.

"Are we responsible for getting him to Ecuador? It's not logical," Correa told the newspaper. "The country that has to give him a safe conduct document is Russia." Correa added that its earlier signals that it would grant Snowden asylum was "a mistake".

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Aside from Ecuador, Wikileaks aide Sarah Harrison has now sent asylum requests to representatives of Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, India, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.

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A few of those countries have rejected the request outright. A spokesman from India's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said India saw "no reason to accede to the Snowden request." France said the asylum request was "not an issue". Most of the other countries have invoked laws which require that an asylum seeker apply from that country's territory or at least from embassies abroad.

One hope that had emerged in recent days for Snowden was Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, who had said that Snowden would "almost certainly" be granted asylum if he requested it. There had also been rumors that Maduro would simply give Snowden a lift to Venezuela on his presidential jet. But Maduro told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday that Venezuela had not yet received a request and declined to respond to questions about whether or not he might take Snowden back to Venezuela when he leaves Russia on Tuesday night.

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Independent Cuba news site Café Fuerte reports that representatives from Cuba, Russia, Ecuador and Venezuela had planned to meet on Monday to discuss the case but that no details have yet become known.

Late on Monday, Wikileaks released a statement attributed to Snowden which jabs at the Obama administration for having revoked his US passport.

"The Obama administration has now adopted the strategy of using citizenship as a weapon," he said. "Although I am convicted of nothing, it has unilaterally revoked my passport, leaving me a stateless person...These are the old, bad tools of political aggression. Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me...I am unbowed in my convictions and impressed at the efforts taken by so many."