Did a U.S. clerical mistake allow Edward Snowden to flee China?

That's Hong Kong's story. Meanwhile, the NSA leaker is apparently still stuck in transit in the Moscow airport

A man walks in a lobby at the capsule hotel Air Express in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, where NSA leaker Edward Snowden has reportedly spent some time.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

U.S. officials are none too pleased with Hong Kong for allowing National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden to fly out of the Chinese territory despite a U.S. extradition request. Hong Kong is now turning the blame back on the U.S., saying the Justice Department documents referred to the fugitive as Edward J Snowden or Edward James Snowden, when the name on his passport is Edward Joseph Snowden.

"These three names are not exactly the same, therefore we believed that there was a need to clarify," Hong Kong Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen said on Tuesday. On top of the middle name issues, he added, the U.S. requests didn't include Snowden's passport number. "Until the minute of Snowden's departure, the U.S. government hadn't yet replied to our requests for clarification," Yuen said. "Hong Kong's government had no legal basis to block his departure."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.