American whistleblower Edward Snowden
American whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia, according to his lawyer.
The former National Security Agency’s contractor, who leaked US surveillance programs in June, was allowed Thursday to leave a Moscow airport, where he has been holed up for over a month, Snowden’s Russian lawyer said.
"Snowden has left Sheremetyevo airport. He has just been given a certificate that he has been awarded temporary asylum in Russia for one year," Anatoly Kucherena told AFP.
Snowden’s present location has not been made public nor will it be disclosed, according to Kucherena.
Snowden, 30, has been charged in the US with espionage and theft of government property.
He revealed that the NSA collects the telephone records of Americans from US telecommunications companies and the online communications of foreign targets from Internet companies.
One day before Snowden was granted asylum, his father thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin and his nation for protecting his son.
Lon Snowden told Moscow-based Rossiya 24 TV on Wednesday that his son will not get a fair trial if he returns to the United States.
In another interview he had with The Washington Post earlier this week, Mr. Snowden expressed support for his son.
“As a father, it pains me what he did,” he told the Post. “But as an American citizen, I am absolutely thankful for what he did.”
He also said he prefers that Edward stay in Russia.
Edward Snowden first revealed his identity in June as the principal source behind articles in the Washington Post and British newspaper the Guardian about the NSA’s spying programs on American citizens and other nationals.
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