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While it’s a good point, it doesn’t really explain anything here. I don’t have the details, but isn’t there a way to apply for an asylum, say, in neighbouring

While it’s a good point, it doesn’t really explain anything here. I don’t have the details, but isn’t there a way to apply for an asylum, say, in neighbouring Georgia, Ukraine or Finland (by walking into an embassy or even straight to a land border)? Is he being held against his will? Does he not desire to move? Is it because he’s thinking those countries would be likely to deport him at the request of the US? Is it because he doesn’t believe living in a country which regime is closer to one’s own philosophy is worth the hassle of moving there? Or he doesn’t consider those countries any better than Russia in this regard? Etc.

ben_w 5y ago
He applied to 27 countries including Finland. Apart from Russia, the ones he could actually reach turned him down. I have no doubt Russia is milking this for all it’s worth (wouldn’t you in their place?) but Snowden really didn’t have a totally free hand in where he ended up after his passport was cancelled — just America or Russia.
- strogonoff 5y ago
  If he did apply for asylum and was refused, that explains the situation to me personally. I never thought all of the (admittedly, quite few) directly adjacent to Russia democratic countries would do that to him. I hope he continues to write on these topics from wherever he is.
  - dane-pgp 5y ago
    > directly adjacent to Russia democratic countries I wonder how necessary the "directly adjacent" criteria is. Couldn't he sail from Russia to Iceland, for example? Perhaps if he was wanted by Interpol he would find it hard to travel through the territorial waters of European nations (assuming their coast guards would intercept a vessel carrying him). In practice, though, I assume that Putin's government has made it very clear to him that his safety relies on him remaining a useful propaganda piece for the regime, so he wouldn't even get as far as Russian waters.
    - randompwd 5y ago
      American operatives cant move freely in Russia as they can in any other European/Western country.
    - shadowgovt 5y ago
      The moment that ship sails into international waters, he's at risk of being spirited off it by a detachment of the FBI [https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/fawaz-younis https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/fawaz-younis]. ... and if he books passage on a ship that doesn't reach international waters, there's nothing to stop US operatives from bribing the captain to take a detour.
    - GeekyBear 5y ago
      > Couldn't he sail from Russia to Iceland, for example? The United States has a recent history of kidnapping people in other countries and sending them off to CIA black sites where some have ended up tortured to death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site
      - rootusrootus 5y ago
        Except Snowden is a citizen of the US. The Constitution unequivocally applies to his relationship with the US gov't anywhere in the world.
        lp0_on_fire 5y ago
        There was no due process for the citizens that a former president ordered to be killed in a drone attack and justified it after the fact that they were enemy combatants. That time it was probably the right call but let's not delude ourselves into thinking that that special relationship isn't flexible when the government deems it so.
        rootusrootus 5y ago

ben_w 5y ago

He applied to 27 countries including Finland. Apart from Russia, the ones he could actually reach turned him down. I have no doubt Russia is milking this for all it’s worth (wouldn’t you in their place?) but Snowden really didn’t have a totally free hand in where he ended up after his passport was cancelled — just America or Russia.

strogonoff 5y ago
If he did apply for asylum and was refused, that explains the situation to me personally. I never thought all of the (admittedly, quite few) directly adjacent to Russia democratic countries would do that to him. I hope he continues to write on these topics from wherever he is.
- dane-pgp 5y ago
  > directly adjacent to Russia democratic countries I wonder how necessary the "directly adjacent" criteria is. Couldn't he sail from Russia to Iceland, for example? Perhaps if he was wanted by Interpol he would find it hard to travel through the territorial waters of European nations (assuming their coast guards would intercept a vessel carrying him). In practice, though, I assume that Putin's government has made it very clear to him that his safety relies on him remaining a useful propaganda piece for the regime, so he wouldn't even get as far as Russian waters.
  - randompwd 5y ago
    American operatives cant move freely in Russia as they can in any other European/Western country.
  - shadowgovt 5y ago
    The moment that ship sails into international waters, he's at risk of being spirited off it by a detachment of the FBI [https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/fawaz-younis https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/fawaz-younis]. ... and if he books passage on a ship that doesn't reach international waters, there's nothing to stop US operatives from bribing the captain to take a detour.
  - GeekyBear 5y ago
    > Couldn't he sail from Russia to Iceland, for example? The United States has a recent history of kidnapping people in other countries and sending them off to CIA black sites where some have ended up tortured to death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraordinary_rendition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site
    - rootusrootus 5y ago
      Except Snowden is a citizen of the US. The Constitution unequivocally applies to his relationship with the US gov't anywhere in the world.
      - lp0_on_fire 5y ago
        There was no due process for the citizens that a former president ordered to be killed in a drone attack and justified it after the fact that they were enemy combatants. That time it was probably the right call but let's not delude ourselves into thinking that that special relationship isn't flexible when the government deems it so.
        rootusrootus 5y ago