Snowden Seeks Asylum from 21 Countries, Gets Eight “No” Answers
We still don't know where NSA leaker Edward Snowden, still technically "in transit" in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, will end up next. But now that more than a third of the countries from which he's applied for asylum have said "no," we can get a good sense of where he's not going.
To wit: Austria, Finland, India, Ireland, Norway, Poland, and Spain have all denied Snowden's application, most on the grounds than an applicant must be on their soil before he or she can be granted asylum status. (India appeared to give a blanket "no.")
We can add those seven countries to Ecuador, which backed far away from Snowden and his asylum request this weekend, and Russia, from which Snowden himself withdrew his application after Putin said he would have to stop leaking NSA documents.
Snowden's next destination will therefore likely come from one of the remaining 12 countries from which he's sought asylum: Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Switzerland or Venezuela.
Of these, only Venezuela has made any kind of comment—and of these, only Venezuela's head of state is currently in Russia.
"We think this young person has done something very important for humanity," President Nicolas Maduro told reporters yesterday, saying that the country would consider Snowden's asylum request, but refused to comment on whether he'd take Snowden back to Caracas with him in his presidential jet.
Of course, there's one more possibly next destination for Snowden: The U.S.
Update: That's a "no" from Brazil, too:
Brazil rejects Edward Snowden asylum request, country's foreign ministry says - @Reuters http://t.co/0ziBaJ2Vy4
