No legal basis to stop Snowden leaving

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Secretary of Justice, Rimsky Yuen has also refuted the US's accusation that the government didn't honor its extradition treaty with the United States and facilitated Edward Snowden's departure from Hong Kong. He said there was no legal basis for Hong Kong Justice Department to stop Snowden from leaving Hong Kong.

Rimsky Yuen, HK SAR Secretary for Justice, said, "Up until the moment, the minute when Mr. Snowden left Hong Kong, the American government did not respond to the Department of Justice's request for further information. Therefore, under Hong Kong laws, the Department of Justice could not and did not have the legal basis to request a provisional warrant from the Hong Kong courts. Without a provisional warrant, the Hong Kong government does not have the legal basis to restrict or stop Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong."