Bolivia leader's jet diverted 'amid Snowden suspicions'

1 hour ago
An employee distributes newspapers with a photograph of Edward Snowden seen on a page, at an underground walkway in central Moscow on 2 July 2013
Several countries have already rejected Edward Snowden's asylum requests, including Austria
Bolivian President Evo Morales's plane has been diverted to Austria amid suspicion that US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is on board, the Bolivian foreign minister has said.
David Choquehuanca denied that Mr Snowden was on the plane.
France and Portugal reportedly refused to allow the Bolivia-bound flight to cross their airspace.
Mr Snowden is said to have applied for asylum in 21 countries to avoid extradition to the US.
Mr Choquehuanca told reporters on Tuesday that France and Portugal had closed their airspace over the "huge lie" that Mr Snowden, 30, was on board.
"We don't know who invented this lie, but we want to denounce to the international community this injustice with the plane of President Evo Morales," he said.
'Hostile act'
An Austrian foreign ministry official, Alexander Schallenberg, said Mr Snowden was not on board the Bolivian leader's aircraft, according to AFP news agency.
The Bolivian defence minister, also on the flight, pilloried the US after the unscheduled landing.
"This is a hostile act by the United States state department which has used various European governments," Ruben Saavedra said.
The jet was reportedly allowed to refuel in Spain before the Falcon aircraft went on to Vienna. President Morales was said to be at the airport in Vienna discussing his return route to Bolivia early on Wednesday.
The Bolivian president had been on a visit to Moscow, where the former CIA contractor has reportedly been holed up in an airport transit area since arriving from Hong Kong on 23 June.
President Morales told Russian television that Bolivia had not yet received an application from Mr Snowden, however, his request, if sent, would be considered.
"Bolivia is ready to accept people who disclose espionage if one can call it this way," he said.
Mr Morales and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been in Moscow for a meeting of gas-exporting countries.
President Maduro said he had not formally received an asylum request, but expressed support for Mr Snowden, saying he "deserves the world's protection" from the United States.
"Why are they persecuting him? What has he done? Did he launch a missile and kill someone? Did he rig a bomb and kill someone? No. He is preventing war," he told Reuters news agency.
Mr Snowden withdrew his application to Russia after President Vladimir Putin said he could stay only on condition that he stopped damaging Russia's "American partners" with his leaks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Spy chief's apology
He is wanted by the US on charges of leaking secrets he gathered while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), America's electronic spying agency.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso: Allegations are "very disturbing and raise important concerns"
On Tuesday, National Intelligence Director James Clapper apologised for telling Congress in March that the NSA did not have a policy of gathering data on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans.
He said in a letter to Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate intelligence committee, that his answer had been "clearly erroneous".
The leaking of thousands of classified intelligence documents has led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data.
Wikileaks, which says it is advising Mr Snowden, said most of the asylum requests - including to Russia itself - had been handed to the Russian consulate at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport late on Sunday for delivery to the relevant embassies in the capital.