HONG KONG — The State Department has asked Hong Kong to extradite Edward J. Snowden to face espionage and theft charges in the United States, officials confirmed on Saturday, setting off what is likely to be a tangled and protracted fight over his fate.
Tom Donilon, President Obama's national security adviser, told CBS Radio News that the request makes "a good case" under the extradition treaty between the United States and Hong Kong for the return of Mr. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor whose disclosures about American surveillance programs have riveted the country. "Hong Kong has been a historically good partner of the United States in law enforcement matters, and we expect them to comply with the treaty in this case," Mr. Donilon said.
A public battle over the status of Mr. Snowden could prove uncomfortable for the Obama administration. His revelations have provoked new criticism of the N.S.A.'s eavesdropping and data collection, and a drawn-out legal struggle could put a harsh spotlight on the tension between Mr. Obama's pledges of transparency and civil liberties and his administration's persistent secrecy and unprecedented leak prosecutions.
Mr. Snowden, 30, left a hotel room in Hong Kong two weeks ago after revealing that he was the one who leaked highly classified documents to The Guardian and The Washington Post. Hong Kong police officials would not comment on Saturday about Mr. Snowden's whereabouts.
Stephen Vickers, who oversaw police criminal intelligence in Hong Kong before Britain returned the territory to China in 1997, said Saturday that the police could detain Mr. Snowden if Hong Kong government lawyers determine that the charges he faces in the United States are also illegal offenses in Hong Kong, which is likely.
"I have no doubt whenever the government decides to take action, they will pick him up fast," said Mr. Vickers, who now runs a risk consulting firm.
David H. Laufman, a former federal prosecutor, said that American officials are likely to press Hong Kong to make sure Mr. Snowden no longer has access to the news media while in custody for fear that he could reveal more N.S.A. secrets. "He's a walking disclosure time bomb," Mr. Laufman said.
If and when the Hong Kong police detain him, Mr. Snowden can then appeal to a magistrate for his release. But he faces another complication: his 90-day tourist visa runs out in mid-August, giving the local authorities another reason to keep him in custody. Should he go to jail, Mr. Snowden would "have slightly greater privileges than prisoners" elsewhere in Hong Kong, said a lawyer with experience in Hong Kong extradition cases, including the choice of Chinese or Western food and access to books — but not to computers.
The more daunting challenge facing the United States is its request to have Mr. Snowden sent back to face charges in the Eastern District of Virginia. Federal prosecutors there have handled many major national security cases, and Mr. Snowden's most recent employer, the N.S.A. contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, has headquarters in the district.
A senior Obama administration official suggested on Saturday that strong pressure was being applied privately on the Hong Kong authorities to swiftly return Mr. Snowden. "If Hong Kong doesn't act soon, it will complicate our bilateral relations and raise questions about Hong Kong's commitment to the rule of law," the official said.
But the appeal to the rule of law cuts both ways, because the United States's surrender treaty with Hong Kong has an exception for political offenses. Mr. Snowden and his lawyers, whom associates say he has retained but who have not been publicly identified, could tie up the extradition effort by asserting that his alleged crimes are political in nature, said Regina Ip, a former Hong Kong secretary of security and a current legislator. She added that such an assertion would have "to go through various levels of our courts."
Alternatively, Mr. Snowden could apply for asylum. Currently, asylum claims are facing delays of several years in Hong Kong, because they are handled by Hong Kong officials in cooperation with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Nazneen Farooqi, a local protection officer with the United Nations refugee agency, suggested last week, without addressing Mr. Snowden's case directly, that his case would not be fast-tracked should he go this route, since "we prioritize older cases." And people who make asylum applications can be held in detention for weeks, months or even longer.
Gerry Mullany reported from Hong Kong, and Scott Shane from Baltimore. Sarah Lyall contributed reporting from London, and Keith Bradsher from Hong Kong.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: June 23, 2013
This article has been revised to remove a statement by a person familiar with the case that Mr. Snowden was staying at an apartment under police protection. Mr. Snowden's whereabouts are unclear.
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