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Raquel Carvalho

A family of four who had housed whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong in 2013 landed in Canada on Tuesday, after living in limbo for several years.
Supun Thilina Kellapatha, his wife Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis, and their stateless children Sethumdi and Dinath, were accepted as privately-sponsored refugees and are now Canadian permanent residents. The family arrived in Toronto at about 4pm on Tuesday.
“I’m so happy this is over. I’m so happy to be going to Canada,” Kellapatha said before he boarded the plane in Hong Kong. “We have a new life, our children now have a future. We’re so grateful right now. Really, I am speechless … The kids are so happy. I’m so grateful.”

Marc-André Séguin, a lawyer and president of Canadian non-profit organisation For the Refugees, said the family was greeted by representatives of the government of Canada upon arrival.
They then went through immigration procedures “to finalise their confirmation of permanent residence”, said Séguin, whose group fights for the rights of political refugees and asylum seekers.
The family joins Vanessa Rodel and her daughter Keana – who is also Supun’s daughter. The two were accepted into Canada as privately-sponsored refugees in March 2019.
Hong Kong’s Snowden refugees appeal to Trudeau
But one of the Snowden refugees, Sri Lankan ex-soldier Ajith Pushpakumara, still remains in Hong Kong.
In 2013, at the request of their lawyer at the time, Robert Tibbo, the group of seven provided food and shelter to Snowden while he was hiding in Hong Kong. The former CIA employee was on the run after leaking confidential information that showed how the United States and other governments were electronically spying on civilians.
The four adults, who had fled persecution in their home countries – Sri Lanka and the Philippines – said they faced threats and harassment after helping Snowden.
Refugee claims with the Canadian government were then filed on their behalf in January 2017. About four months later, their protection claims in Hong Kong were rejected and they have since put all their hopes on Canada.
As we work to settle Supun and his family in their new home, our attention and concern now turns to Ajith, who is still in Hong Kong
Marc-André Séguin, lawyer
“I can say that I am incredibly happy to see this chapter end and a new one begin for the family. After nearly half a decade, they can move on with their lives … Canada finally did the right thing,” said Séguin.
“But as we work to settle Supun and his family in their new home, our attention and concern now turns to Ajith, who is still in Hong Kong. We hope that Canada will do the right thing quickly and let him join the others as soon as possible,” the lawyer said.
According to Séguin, Kellapatha’s family will be living in Montreal, where a fully-furnished flat has been set up for them. For the Refugees will provide for this family over their first year in Canada, while continuing to pay for Ajith’s expenses as he waits for his application to be processed.
It is the beginning of “a brand new chapter for these brave refugees and their young children, with a fresh start in a safe place”, Séguin said.


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Canada

Hong Kong asylum-seeker family who housed Edward Snowden embrace new life as Canadian permanent residents

Supun Thilina Kellapatha and his family arrive in Toronto, Canada, as refugees on September 28, 2021. Photo: AFP

Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis holds her son Dinath beside daughter Sethumdi as Supun Thilina Kellapatha (2R) speaks with lawyer Marc-Andre Seguin (R), as they arrive in Canada as refugees at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on September 28, 2021. - Canada Tuesday granted asylum to four people who hid former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in their tiny Hong Kong apartments when he was on the run after stealing a trove of classified documents. The four -- Supun Thilina Kellapatha, Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis and their children Sethumdi and Dinath -- landed in Toronto in the afternoon and were due to go on to Montreal to "start their new lives," non-profit For the Refugees said in a statement. (Photo by Cole Burston / AFP)

Asylum seekers who sheltered Edward Snowden embrace new life in Canada after ‘living in hell’ in Hong Kong

Vanessa Rodel and her daughter, Keana, talk to media at Toronto airport. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2015, file photo, Edward Snowden appears on a live video feed broadcast from Moscow at an event sponsored by ACLU Hawaii in Honolulu. Europe's human rights court is about to publish what could be a landmark ruling on the legality of mass surveillance. The case brought by civil liberties, human rights and journalism groups and campaigners challenges British surveillance and intelligence-sharing practices revealed by American whistleblower Edward Snowden. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

7-year-old Keana Rodel stands with lawyer Robert Tibbo as they wait for her mother Vanessa Rodel after the pair landed at the Toronto airport on a flight from Hong Kong, in Toronto, Canada, Monday, on March 25, 2019. - Canada has granted asylum to a woman who helped Edward Snowden hide in Hong Kong after his leaks exposed US global surveillance programs, a refugee rights association said March 25, 2019. Vanessa Rodel and her seven-year-old daughter Keana were scheduled to arrive in Toronto later Monday on a flight from Hong Kong, the non-profit organization For the Refugees said. They were set to travel to Montreal on Tuesday to settle there as private sector-sponsored refugees. (Photo by Cole BURSTON / AFP)

Refugees who sheltered Edward Snowden (L to R) Supun Thilina Kellapatha, mum Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis with son Dinath, daughter Sethmundi, Vanessa Mae Rodel with her daughter, and Ajith Kumara, at Li Po Chun United World College. 14FEB17 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Rejected by Hong Kong, first asylum seekers who sheltered Edward Snowden are granted refugee status by Canada

Refugees Vanessa Rodel and her daughter Keana head to a press conference at the Immigration Tower in Wan Chai, Hong Kong in 2017. Photo: SCMP / David Wong

(left to right): Refugees Ajith Pushpa Kumara; Keana and her mother Vanessa Mae Rodel; Dinath (front middle) and mother Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis; daughter Sethmundi Kellapatha; and Supun Thilina Kellapatha head to the press conference at the Immigration Tower in Wan Chai. The asylum seekers who sheltered Edward Snowden when Snowden was hiding in Hong Kong are facing possible deportation to their home countries after immigration authorities rejected their case. 15MAY17 SCMP / David Wong

Refugees who sheltered Snowden, Vanessa Mae Rodel with her 5-year-old daughter Keana, report at the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre. 30AUG17 SCMP / K. Y. Cheng

Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden finishes an exclusive interview with Kyodo News in Moscow on May 29, 2017. Snowden warned that Japan may be moving closer to sweeping surveillance of ordinary citizens as the government eyes a legal change to enhance police powers in the name of counterterrorism. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Hong Kong rejects asylum claims by refugees who sheltered Edward Snowden

Lawyer Robert Tibbo (far right) with Ajith Pushpakumara, Vanessa Mae Rodel and her daughter, Supun Thilina Kellapatha (wearing cap) and his wife Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis and their children on Monday. Photo: David Wong

Filipino asylum seeker Vanessa Mae Rodel with her daughter, at Li Po Chun United World College. Vanessa is one of the refugees who housed Snowden for a couple of weeks in 2013. 14FEB17 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

Sri Lankan refugee family (L to R) mother Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis, daughter Sethumdi, son Dinath, and father Supun Thilina Kellapatha, at Li Po Chun United World College. 14FEB17 SCMP/Jonathan Wong

(left to right): Lawyer Robert Tibbo; and Ajith Pushpakumara, a Sri Lankan refugee who sheltered Edward Snowden will attend a screening interview at the Immigration. Photo taken at the Skyline Tower in Kowloon Bay. 08MAY17 SCMP / Edward Wong

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Sri Lankan family who had sheltered US whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong landed in Canada as privately sponsored refugees
Refugee claims with the Canadian government had been filed on their behalf in January 2017



Sri Lankan family who had sheltered US whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong landed in Canada as privately sponsored refugees


Edward Snowden

Human rights

Sri Lanka