Hong Kong legal battle looms for NSA contractor

U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, an analyst with a U.S. defence contractor, is seen in this still image taken from a video during an interview with the Guardian in his hotel room in Hong Kong June 6, 2013. REUTERS/Courtesy of The Guardian/Glenn Greenwald/Laura Poitras/Handout

HONG KONG (Reuters) - A potential extradition tussle in Hong Kong over an American who has exposed the U.S. government's top-secret surveillance programmes could prove to be a test case for civil liberties in the financial hub controlled by China.

Edward Snowden, 29, a contractor at the National Security Agency (NSA), chose Hong Kong as the international bolt-hole from where to leak details of the programmes, endorsing the city for its "spirited commitment to free speech and the right to political dissent".