Justice secretary explains why White House's request for arrest of whistleblower was turned down

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

Hong Kong's justice minister has said the US government got the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden's middle name wrong in documents it submitted seeking his arrest.

Snowden, who hid in Hong Kong for several weeks after revealing secret US surveillance programmes, was allowed to fly to Moscow on Sunday despite a US request for his arrest. Hong Kong said at the time that the paperwork had not fully complied with its requirements.

Hong Kong's justice secretary, Rimsky Yuen, explained on Tuesday that there had been discrepancies in the documentation filed by US authorities.

He said Hong Kong immigration records listed Snowden's middle name as Joseph, but the US government used the name James in some documents.

Yuen said US authorities had also not provided his passport number.

The decision to let Snowden leave angered the White House, which said it damaged US-Chinese relations.