I agree it would have been better for him to stay in the US and stand trial, however I can't fault him for being scared shitless of the US government apparatus,

I agree it would have been better for him to stay in the US and stand trial, however I can't fault him for being scared shitless of the US government apparatus, and that's not considering all the things he knows that you and I don't. Perhaps he had good reason to believe that he would have been railroaded by a secret court and imprisoned away for life with no access to lawyers and his story conveniently whitewashed away. It took incredible courage (certainly more than I would have) to do what he did, and I am incredibly thankful that someone did, so I can't fault him for not going the whole nine yards to martyrdom. Listening to him speak, he obviously has very well-reasoned and logical positions which contrasts sharply with official response. And I don't place much weight on the opinions of foreign leaders whose hands are tied by political concerns.