Bolivian president's plane redirected due to fear Snowden was aboard

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Jet forced to land in Vienna after words of support for the leaker in Moscow.

A jet carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales was diverted after leaving Moscow on Tuesday when France and Portugal abruptly revoked permission for the president's plane to travel through the nations' airspace due to rumors that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board the plane.

According to the Associated Press, Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca denied that Snowden was on the plane. Morales' plane was forced to land in Vienna, and Austrian foreign ministry officials later confirmed that Snowden was not on board. The Bolivian president is spending the night at a hotel in Vienna, Austria.

Ruben Saavedra, the Bolivian Defense Minister, was on the flight with Morales and made it clear who he blames for the diverted flight—the US. "This is a hostile act by the United States State Department which has used various European governments," said Saavedra. The Guardian reports that the US State Department was not immediately available to comment on whether it had pressured the French an Portuguese governments to revoke their airspace permits.

President Morales was in Russia for a summit of major gas-exporting nations, and earlier today he appeared for an interview with Russian television station Russia Today, where he said that he would consider an asylum request from Snowden. The US government revoked Edward Snowden's passport earlier this week, leaving him ostensibly stranded in the transit area of Moscow's international airport. He is charged with espionage and theft for leaking classified documents that he obtained from his former job at the NSA.

Although Edward Snowden's ultimate destination remains in question, he appears to have the support of his family. His father, Lon Snowden, published an open letter to his son with the help of his attorney, Bruce Fein, which appeared in The Guardian today:

The history of civilization is a history of brave men and women refusing to bow to government wrongdoing or injustice, and exalting knowledge, virtue, wisdom, and selflessness over creature comforts as the North Star of life. We believe your actions fall within that honorable tradition, a conviction we believe is shared by many.

As regards your reduction to de facto statelessness occasioned by the Executive Branch to penalize your alleged violations of the Espionage Act, the United States Supreme Court lectured in Trop v. Dulles (1958): "The civilized nations of the world are in virtual unanimity that statelessness is not to be imposed as punishment for crime."

Snowden recently withdrew his bid for asylum in Russia when the nation said it would accept it on the condition that he cease leaking documents to the press.

Correction: The fifth paragraph in this story originally stated that Edward Snowden's 'status as a citizen'' was in question. It is not. Snowden is still an American citizen.

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