Former U.S. intelligence
contractor Edward Snowden, wanted by the United States for leaking
extensive secrets of its electronic surveillance programs, has been
given a three-year residence permit by Russia, his Russian lawyer told
reporters on Thursday.
The announcement comes at a time when Russia’s relations with the
West are at Cold War-era lows over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
“The decision on the application has been taken and therefore, with
effect from August 1, 2014, Edward Snowden has received a three-year
residential permit,” Anatoly Kucherena said.
“In the future, Edward himself will take a decision on whether to
stay on [in Russia] and get Russian citizenship or leave for the United
States,” added Kucherena.
He said Snowden could apply for citizenship after living in Russia
for five years, in 2018, but that he had not decided whether he wanted
to stay or leave.
Kucherena said Snowden was studying Russian and had an IT-related
job, but did not provide details. “He is a high-class IT specialist,” he
said.
He said Snowden’s security was being taken seriously and that he was using private security guards.
“He leads a rather modest lifestyle, but nevertheless we proceed from
the tone of statements that come from the U.S. State Department and
other political figures,” he said.
“The security issue should not be treated as a secondary one.”
Snowden’s place of residence has not been disclosed and few pictures of him have appeared in the media.
His lawyer has in the past expressed concerns that he could be at
risk, given his intelligence background and the outrage over the leaks
expressed by U.S. authorities.
Snowden fled to Hong Kong and then Moscow last year after leaking details of secret state surveillance programs.
He spent almost six weeks at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport before
Russia granted him asylum for a year on August. 1, 2013, upsetting
Washington, which wants to try him on charges including espionage.
Snowden is believed to have taken 1.7 million digital documents with
him. His leaks revealed massive programs run by the U.S. National
Security Agency (NSA) that gathered information on hundreds of millions
of Americans’ emails, phone calls and Internet use.
He was charged last year in the United States with theft of
government property, unauthorized communication of national defense
information and wilful communication of classified intelligence to an
unauthorized person.
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