Taoiseach confirms Snowden asylum application

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has confirmed to the Dáil that Edward Snowden has sought asylum in Ireland, but that only applications made within the country can be considered.

Mr Kenny said that if a valid application is received, it will be processed in the normal way.

He confirmed that Mr Snowden has written to the Irish Embassy in Moscow seeking asylum, but that such applications are not accepted from people who are outside the country.

The issue was raised by United Left Alliance TD Clare Daly, who said Mr Snowden was an "international here" facing serious charges "for the crime of releasing information in the public interest".

She said Tony Cascarino was given an Irish passport "on the basis of a ficitious granny" so he could join Jackie's Army, and surely one could be provided for Mr Snowden.

Deputy Daly added that asylum had been granted previously to people outside the country, such as Vietnamese boat people and Bosnian Muslim refugees.

The fugitive ex-CIA analyst has applied for asylum in 21 countries, including Ireland, according to the Wikileaks website.

Mr Snowden faces charges of espionage in the United States for disclosing details of covert internet and phone surveillance programmes by the government.

According to Wikileaks, he has applied for asylum in Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, the Russian Federation, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela, Ecuador and Iceland.

Mr Snowden challenged the US by saying he was free to publish more about its spy programmes - something which ruled out a prolonged stay in Russia.

A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said the 30-year-old, who worked for the National Security Agency as a contractor in Hawaii, withdrew his request when the Russian leader said he should give up his "anti-American activity".

A Russian foreign ministry official has confirmed that Mr Snowden is still in a Moscow airport hotel.

Mr Snowden has accused President Barack Obama of denying him his "basic right to asylum" and using citizenship as a weapon by revoking his passport.

In his first public statement since flying to Russia, published by Wikileaks, Mr Snowden accused the US of using the "old, bad tools of political aggression".

He also directly addressed the American public, saying the US administration was not afraid of him, but them.

He said it was afraid of "an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised".

Earlier, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the Government should grant asylum to Mr Snowden.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Boyd Barrett said Mr Snowden is "someone who acted at great personal risk and cost" to reveal the extent of the US' surveillance programme and would likely suffer persecution if he returned to the US.

He said he would raise the issue in the Dáil.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Mr Snowden deserved the "world's protection", but said his country had not yet received an asylum request from him.

Poland, Finland will not grant asylum

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed that an asylum request had been received from Mr Snowden, but said asylum will not be granted.

Finland said it had also received a request for political asylum from Mr Snowden, but could not accept his application as Finnish law required him to be in the country. 

Austria's Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner said he applied for political asylum in Austria via the country's Moscow embassy yesterday, but would need to submit such a request directly.

The Austria Press Agency quoted her as saying Mr Snowden would not be deported if he arrived in Austria because "there is no international arrest warrant".

Spain said any application for political asylum would be invalid since Mr Snowden is not on Spanish soil.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said he had no knowledge of any application to Spain.

India's foreign ministry has said it sees "no reason" to accept an asylum request from Mr Snowden.

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