Snowden left Hong Kong with refugee document from Ecuador—Assange

A TV screen shows a news report of Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping US surveillance programs, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong Sunday, June 23, 2013. The former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for revealing two highly classified surveillance programs has been allowed to leave for a “third country” because a US extradition request did not fully comply with Hong Kong law, the territory’s government said Sunday. AP PHOTO/VINCENT YU

LONDON — US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden left Hong Kong with a refugee document supplied by Ecuador after the United States revoked his passport, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said on Monday.

“To leave Hong Kong Mr. Snowden was supplied with a refugee document of passage by the Ecuadoran government,” Assange, whose organization is helping Snowden, said in a conference call.

Snowden has also made asylum applications to several countries including Iceland and Ecuador, WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson added.