Lawyers for three families who sheltered Edward Snowden in Hong Kong say they have formally asked the Canadian government to grant them asylum. They issued a statement Thursday saying that the families want to move to Canada because they face persecution in Hong Kong. Snowden fled to Hong Kong to avoid prosecution over the leak of classified material about the U.S. government's surveillance programs. The families that sheltered me have formally filed for asylum in Canada. On Twitter, Snowden said: "The families that sheltered me have formally filed for asylum in Canada.

Source: CBC News March 10, 2017 01:07 UTC