The former CIA employee has exposed a system for monitoring phone and internet records of hundreds of millions of Americans. He hopes not be extradited to the United States, where he could be tried, or sent to China for information about US security.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Edward Snowden, who released classified material on top-secret US programmes to monitor phone and internet use, is hiding out in Hong Kong, he told The Guardian in a series of interviews published today.

The 29-year-old employee of defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and former CIA technical assistant revealed the existence of a secret programme run by the National Security Agency (NSA) in interviews in which he showed documents that included details about phone records and more or less sensitive information involving hundreds of millions of Americans with the apparent cooperation of many internet companies (Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Apple, etc . . .).

The NSA collects and stores records to find possible terrorists who have contact with people in the US through an internet scouring programme, code-named PRISM, which allows the NSA and FBI to gather information about all internet usage-audio, video, photographs, emails and searches.

Snowden is said to have arrived in Hong Kong on 20 May, where he has kept a low profile. However, "I have no intention of hiding," he said, "because I know I have done nothing wrong".

He chose Hong Kong, he said, because the city has "a spirit commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent."

The United States has already requested a criminal probe into the leak. If accepted, US authorities might apply for his extradition but Hong Kong could refuse it only with Beijing's agreement.

Snowden, for his part, hopes to receive asylum from a European country, especially Iceland. He is concerned that he might be handed over to mainland China for what he knows about US security.

Internet companies have been shocked by Snowden's "outrageous" revelations. Google, Facebook and Yahoo! have stated that they provide only information in accordance with the law.

President Barack Obama said that the NSA programmes are authorised by Congress and subject to strict supervision by a secret court. "It's important to recognise that you can't have 100 per cent security and also then have 100 per cent privacy," Obama said.

If he is extradited and put on trial, Snowden could get 10 to 20 years in prison.

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