NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden 'has approached Iceland to seek asylum there'
- An intermediary for Snowden approached a WikiLeaks spokesman, who then notified Iceland about the asylum bid
- Icelandic government confirmed it had received the informal request
- Iceland is known for promoting internet freedoms
- Comes as Yahoo reveals the government has asked it for user data 13,000 times in the past six months
By REUTERS REPORTER and LYDIA WARREN PUBLISHED: 16:06 GMT, 18 June 2013 | UPDATED: 22:21 GMT, 19 June 2013
Iceland has received an informal approach from an intermediary who says NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden wants to seek asylum there, it has emerged. Snowden fled his home in Hawaii, where he worked for NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, after exposing the U.S. government's top surveillance secrets. He is at a secret location in Hong Kong.In a column in Icelandic daily newspaper Frettabladid, WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson wrote that a middleman had approached him on behalf of Snowden.
In hiding: An intermediary has approached a WikiLeaks spokesperson to notify the Icelandic government that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, pictured, wants to seek asylum there
'On 12 June, I received a message from Edward Snowden where he asked me to notify the Icelandic government that he wanted to seek asylum in Iceland,' Hrafnsson, who is also an investigative journalist in Iceland, told Reuters. He added that he has yet to receive a response from officials about his request but said they have a 'moral obligation' to answer the call for help.
The Icelandic government, which has refused to say whether they would grant asylum to Snowden, confirmed it had received the message from Hrafnsson.'Kristinn Hrafnsson has contacted two ministries in an informal way but not the ministers,' a government spokesman said. 'There has been no formal approach in this matter.' Assange: We're in touch with Snowden's lawyer
<center></center>
Helping hand: WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson, left, approached Iceland on behalf of Snowden and his middleman. Julian Assange, right, also sought help from Iceland ahead of Wikileaks' releases
Safety: Iceland has a reputation for promoting Internet freedoms. Reykjavik is pictured
IS ICELAND SAFE FOR SNOWDEN?
Iceland has a reputation for promoting Internet freedoms and has long been discussed as an option for Snowden.
As a U.S. citizen, Snowden would not need a visa to enter Iceland and could immediately apply for asylum. He would be free to live in Iceland while immigration authorities decide his case, which could take more than a year, experts have said.
But if Snowden wants to seek refuge in Iceland, he'll have to get there first. And this is where the U.S. could have a chance.
Interpol will sometimes issue a 'red notice' - which is like an international arrest warrant - but keep it sealed so that the person doesn't know it exists. If he tried to travel, he would be arrested at the airport.
If he did get to Iceland, it is unknown if he would be safe. The government of newly-elected Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson is believed to be closer to Washington than past administrations and less keen to foster the country's cyber-haven image.
'I would be very surprised if they (the government) would be eager to engage in any international disputes with the U.S. And it is pretty difficult to be granted asylum here,' Stefania Oskarsdottir, lecturer in political science at the University of Iceland, told Reuters. 'I think what this guy is saying is based on something he is imagining or hoping for rather than actual facts.'
Iceland does have an extradition treaty with the United States, but it is unclear if it would cover any crimes that he might be charged with.
Hrafnsson would not identify who the middleman was.Snowden has previously mentioned Iceland as a possible refuge.Iceland has a reputation for promoting Internet freedoms, but Snowden has said did not travel there immediately from the United States as he feared the country could be pressured by Washington.'Iceland could be pushed harder, quicker, before the public could have a chance to make their feelings known, and I would not put that past the current U.S. administration,' Snowden said in an online forum in the Guardian on Monday. It had been suggested that he would actually flee to the Icelandic consulate in Hong Kong, rather than risking boarding a plane to fly there in person.
Icelandic officials told USA Today last week that Snowden is missing a key element.'The main stipulation for seeking asylum in Iceland would be that the person must be in Iceland to start the process,' said Johannes Tomasson, the chief spokesman for Iceland's Ministry of Interior in Reykjavik. 'That would be the ground rule No. 1.'WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over allegations of sex crimes, visited Iceland several times in the run-up to some of the website's major releases.
Assange denies any wrongdoing.Yet some experts added that Iceland might not be as welcoming as Snowden hopes.The government of newly-elected Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson has not been tested in relation to these cases, but is believed to be closer to Washington than past administrations and less keen to foster the country's cyber-haven image.'I would be very surprised if they (the government) would be eager to engage in any international disputes with the U.S. And it is pretty difficult to be granted asylum here,' Stefania Oskarsdottir, lecturer in political science at the University of Iceland, told Reuters.'I think what this guy is saying is based on something he is imagining or hoping for rather than actual facts.'
Support: Snowden's image is displayed in Hong Kong, where the whistleblower is currently in hiding
GOVERNMENT ASKED YAHOO FOR USER DATA 13,000 TIMES IN PAST SIX MONTHS: FIRM LATEST TO RELEASE NUMBERS AFTER NSA REVELATIONS
Yahoo has joined a list of major technology companies in releasing how many times the government requests data on its users - and it was a hefty 13,000 times in the past six months.
The company, based in Sunnyvale, California, followed the likes of Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Google in releasing the broad numbers pertaining to the period from December 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013 in the wake of the NSA surveillance program revelations.
Yahoo said most often, the government requested data concerning fraud, homicide, kidnapping and other criminal investigations.
However, the number, which hovers somewhere between 12,000 and 13,000 also includes requests made under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Unlike some of its competitors, Yahoo did not reveal how many accounts the government requested information on so it's hard to say how many customers have been impacted.
In a blog post on Tuesday night, CEO Marissa Mayer said: 'Like all companies, Yahoo! cannot lawfully break out FISA request numbers at this time because those numbers are classified; however, we strongly urge the federal government to reconsider its stance on this issue.'
Mayer, writing with the company's general counsel Ron Bell, said the internet firm would from now on release reports twice a year on global law enforcement requests.
