“I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality,” NSA leaker Edward Snowden told the the South China Morning Post Wednesday morning, referring to the ongoing speculation over his move to Hong Kong from Hawaii after leaking extensive documents from his former employer, the NSA.
A picture of Edward Snowden is displayed on the front page of a newspaper in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP “People who think I made a mistake in picking Hong Kong as a location misunderstand my intentions. I am not here to hide from justice; I am here to reveal criminality,” Snowden stated.
However, as the Post revealed in a series of articles detailing their interview with Snowden, Snowden claims that the U.S. has been “trying to bully” Hong Kong’s government into extraditing him.
Snowden stated:
I heard today from a reliable source that the United States government is trying to bully the Hong Kong government into extraditing me before the local government can learn of this [the US National Security Agency hacking people in Hong Kong]. The US government will do anything to prevent me from getting this into the public eye, which is why they are pushing so hard for extradition.
No U.S., China, or Hong Kong officials have publicly stated their intentions.
Snowden said he will fight any extradition attempt by the US government, saying: “My intention is to ask the courts and people of Hong Kong to decide my fate. I have been given no reason to doubt your system.’’
Snowden added: “I’m neither traitor nor hero. I’m an American.”
Snowden says he has committed no crimes in Hong Kong and has “been given no reason to doubt [Hong Kong’s legal] system.”
“I have not spoken to any of my family,” Snowden told the Post, but, he added that he is “worried about the pressure they are feeling from the FBI,” referring to reports that two FBI agents were seen at the home of Snowden’s father in Lehigh County, New Jersey, on Monday.
The Post published portions of its interview Wednesday morning, but said it would publish the entire interview “soon,” promising “explosive details” on US surveillance targets, Snowden’s next plans, and the steps Snowden claims the US has taken since landing in Hong Kong.
However it is unclear whether the Post has more to publish.
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This article originally appeared on: Common Dreams