India refuses Edward Snowden's request for asylum

New Delhi: India has refused a request for asylum from former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Mr Snowden faces espionage charges in the United States and is believed to be staying in a transit area at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, has taken up his cause and released a statement saying that Mr Snowden, who is 30, has asked for asylum in several countries, including Russia, China, Brazil, India and Ireland.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in India said, "I can confirm that earlier today our Embassy in Moscow did receive a communication dated 30 June from Mr Edward Snowden. That communication did contain a request for asylum. We have carefully examined the request.Following that examination we have concluded that we see no reason to accede to the request."

The requests for asylum were given to a Russian official at the airport and were to be delivered to the appropriate embassies in Moscow.

In a statement posted on WikiLeaks, Mr Snowden accused the Obama administration of deception in a campaign to prevent him from finding political asylum and of "leaving me a stateless person" by revoking his US passport.

He flew to Moscow from Hong Kong, where he had first taken refuge after fleeing Hawaii.
Snowden has sought asylum in Ecuador and in an undated letter sent to Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa seen by Reuters, said the United States was illegally persecuting him for revealing its electronic surveillance programme, Prism, but made it clear he did not intend to be muzzled.

"I remain free and able to publish information that serves the public interest," Snowden, who had been a contract employee for the US National Security Agency, said in the letter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said  Mr Snowden could stay in Russia on one condition.

"He must stop his work aimed at harming our American partners, as strange as that sounds coming from my lips," he told reporters after a gas exporters' conference in Moscow.

Putin said he suspected that Snowden would continue leaking information because "he feels himself to be a human rights activist."

"So he must choose a country of destination and go there," he said, speaking before the asylum request to Russia was reported. "Unfortunately, I don't know when this will happen."
Putin said Russia was not working with Snowden and had no intention of handing him over to the United States.