[zirgs]

This is the problem with the so-called "multipolar world". There aren't any other democratic poles. So - if you're a dissident or a whistleblower and you're too high-profile - you have nowhwere to go.

Snowden has to live in Russia, because pretty much all Western countries would put him on the first plane to the USA if he ever tried to enter.

My country extradites even our own citizens to the USA.

[soraminazuki]

Snowden was stranded in Russia because his passport was revoked while he was headed towards South America.

[zirgs]

He got lucky. South America isn't safe for him either. Look what happened to Assange. The Ecuadorian government changed and they kicked him out of the embassy soon after that. He wasted all those years there for nothing.

[ekianjo]

Wasted x years not being in prison?

[zirgs]

He basically imprisoned himself for all of those years. And what's worse - those years won't be subtracted from whatever sentence he's going to get. I don't understand what his long-term plan was.

[TremendousJudge]

If I had to choose between being stuck in an embassy and being in a US prison, I wouldn't think about it twice.

[zirgs]

Yeah, but without a proper exit plan - you're only delaying the inevitable. He has spent 7 years in the embassy and 4 years in an UK prison - and his trial hasn't even started yet. 11 years and counting - many murderers don't get that much.

[WeylandYutani]

Well yeah superpowers can do whatever they want.

To be fair to the US they don't push you out of a window. You get your day in court (although it may take several decades- see Guantanamo bay).

[sealeck]

And then you get countries like France where they refuse to extradite probable child sex offenders.

[dang]

"Eschew flamebait. Avoid generic tangents."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[abwizz]

everybody is a "probable child sex offender", so there is no ground to extradite.

[anon____]

I think he meant convicted child rapists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski_sexual_abuse_ca....