The Russian government has given permanent residency rights to Edward Snowden, according to the former National Security Agency contractor’s lawyer.
Anatoly Kucherena said on Thursday the documents for his client’s permanent residency rights were granted and that he is a step closer to achieving Russian citizenship should he choose to pursue it.
“His (Russian) residency permit was expiring, and we asked to extend it,” Kucherena told Reuters. “We submitted the documents in April, and we got the permanent residency rights.”
Snowden, 37, has lived in exile in Moscow for more than half a decade after the Russian government granted him asylum in June of 2013. According to Kucherena, Snowden has not indicated any intention that he wishes to pursue Russian citizenship at this time.
Snowden worked at the CIA prior to a stint as a contractor for the National Security Agency. In 2013, he left his job at an NSA facility in Hawaii, flew to Hong Kong, and disclosed hundreds of thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists the following month. Snowden revealed not just domestic surveillance programs but also exposed national security operations around the world by the United States and its allies.
He has been charged with violating the Espionage Act.
In 2019, Snowden told CBS News he would return to the U.S. and stand trial for his actions if he could “get a fair trial.”
“Of course, I would like to return to the United States,” Snowden said. “That is the ultimate goal. But if I’m going to spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom-line demand that we all have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that’s the one thing the government has refused to guarantee.”
President Trump said in August he was going to “take a very good look at” pardoning Snowden, but there has been little in the way of developments since that time.
