Snowden ran after charges were filed against him. He admits to his actions. If he had stayed, he could have beaten the charges in court, because it is a defense to prosecution for a lesser crime to be committed (improper process of whistleblowing) to prevent a worse crime (various). But while Snowden is not innocent of the crime, he's simply got a valid defense to negate a guilty finding.
Rushdie fled a fatwa issued by a religious cleric, not the government, following the publication of The Satanic Verses. He was not charged with a crime by the government, but numerous individuals attempted to assassinate him for what they viewed as blasphemy of their religion.
The Dalai Lama, the then-legitimate ruler of Nepal, fled the Chinese occupiers of his country and set up a government-in-exile. He has never been charged with a crime by China.
Timothy Leary actually did commit a number of drug-related crimes including distribution, and ran because he was quite guilty. He also got caught a number of times and saw the inside of a number of jails and prisons...