Fleeing US law enforcement, the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden seems stuck for where to go next. CNN Travel’s own top secret document reveals which countries should be on his list …
Snowden has sown a global trail of confusion in his flight from the United States. Journalists and diplomats have been scrambling to anticipate where he might pop up next.
What should Snowden be looking for in a decent place of refuge?
A willingness to grant “quickie” citizenships and the lack of an extradition treaty are obvious attractions, says Professor Ruth Wedgwood, an expert in international law and diplomacy at Washington’s Johns Hopkins University.
Decent plumbing and good weather probably wouldn’t go amiss, either.
Snowden will have to be quick, though. Fugitives should be careful in choosing their destinations as diplomatic allegiances shift fast, says Michael Abbell, a former director of the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and a key extradition negotiator under Ronald Reagan.
“Especially when you’re dealing with such things as are arguably political in nature,” Abbell told CNN. “From time to time there have been countries that people could more or less get lost in [but] it depends on the nature of the case.”
What Snowden and other fugitives clearly need is a guide to the world’s political safe havens. This constitutes something of a niche travel guide, and it’s unlikely Lonely Planet or Frommer’s have one in the pipeline.
Fortunately, CNN Travel has compiled just such a list. Until now, it has been encrypted in secure computer servers located deep in the basement behind several locked doors. And then someone went and leaked it…
1. Iceland
Iceland makes for an excellent fugitive destination, particularly for someone with a wintry name such as Snowden. It professes a love for internet freedoms and once checkmated extradition efforts by offering citizenship to tax-evading US chessman Bobby Fischer.
For Snowden it might feel chilly after Hawaii, Hong Kong and midsummer Moscow, but he could easily warm up with a dip in the geothermal waters of the Grindavik Blue Lagoon.
Why stay: Ash-spewing volcanoes could help to shroud your location.
Why leave: New laws to aid whistleblowers are not yet in place. Also, they eat puffins.
2. Ecuador
It’s a two-way deal: exiles get a sub-tropical shelter while the Ecuadorean President, Rafael Correa, gets to burnish anti-American credentials and a distraction from his clampdowns on press freedom.
Why stay: Plenty of Inca ruins and colonial Spanish buildings to admire.
Why leave: Ecuador still has an extradition deal with the United States.
3. The UK
It might be heavily in diplomatic hock to Washington, but the UK remains a popular place of refuge — particularly among Russian exiles drawn by its liberal outlook, robust legal system and miserable weather. OK, maybe not the weather.
Despite security cameras on every corner, plenty of people have managed to lose themselves in London. And if all else fails, it has an Ecuadorian embassy, although since Assange has already snagged the spare room, you’ll be on the sofa.
Why stay: Strong tradition of political radicalism
Why leave: Did we mention the awful weather?
4. The Philippines
The Filipino police have a strong track record of helping foreign agents hunt down their quarry, but with more than 7,000 islands to choose from, it could take them some time.
Why stay: Boracay’s beaches, Banaue’s scenic rice terraces and — as it happens — more colonial Spanish architecture!
Why go: Rampant corruption. Even if you’re not on the lam, you’ll still be bilked for backhanders.
5. Spain
Southern Spain’s enduring popularity among expat UK villains has earned its coastline the unfortunate soubriquet of “Costa del Crime.” A spate of arrests has tarnished its appeal, though.
Why stay: The sunshine, the paella, the sangria.
Why leave: British pubs selling greasy breakfasts to greasier Brits. Abject lack of Spanish colonial architecture.
6. France
The French have a rep for being rude to foreigners — unless they are fleeing justice. The country has ignored extradition deals in the past, refusing to give up US-wanted hijackers in the 1960s and 70s. If you’ve done something political — or you are Roman Polanski — you’re probably safe.
Why stay: France has it all: Culture, countryside and cheese.
Why leave: France also has the French.
7. United States
Why not hide in plain sight? It’s a big, frequently beautiful country and there are parts of America where folks don’t even know who their president is, let alone who’s on his most wanted list.
Why stay: Land of the free.
Why go: Pressure to have plastic surgery. Even if you’re not changing your identity.
8. North Korea
Clearly this would be madness. But as extradition expert Abbell notes, North Korea and Iran are two countries where fugitives are almost guaranteed to be beyond the reach of international justice.
US soldier Charles Jenkins demonstrated this principle between 1965 and 2004 after deserting to the north during the Korean War, and living — albeit rather wretchedly — to tell the tale.
Why stay: Don’t stay.
Why leave: It won’t be your emails that are monitored, just your every waking thought.
9. Cuba
Embargoes didn’t stop Jay Z from heading to Havana, but you probably won’t have to worry about facing the other kind of rap as Cuba seems happy to ignore its extradition treaties.
Why stay: Salsa, cigars and those great old cars held together with washing machine spares.
Why go: Worrying proximity to Guantanamo
10. Transit
Snowden appears to have spent several days airside at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, a location that Kremlin authorities insist does not fall within Russian borders.
Perhaps he could stay there, following the footsteps of Iranian exile Mehran Karimi Nasseri, whose eight years stranded at Charles de Gaulle airport inspired the movie “The Terminal”.
Why stay: Limitless supplies of Dan Brown books and giant Toblerones.
Why go: Audacious flight from justice will be rendered into a lame Tom Hanks comedy.
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