image source,Getty Images
Snowden faces espionage charges in the United States that could lead to decades in prison.
Russia has announced the granting of citizenship to former US intelligence employee Edward Snowden. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree on Monday.
Snowden, 39, has been in exile in Russia since exile in 2013 when he exposed a massive NSA spying program.
Snowden has made no public comments. He faces espionage charges in the United States that could lead to decades in prison.
Snowden is one of 75 foreigners granted Russian citizenship under the decree. The decree was published on the official government website.
Russian state media quoted Snowden’s lawyers as saying that because Snowden never served in the Russian army, he would not be drafted as part of a military mobilization target.
In May 2013, Snowden disclosed the “Prism” plan to the media in Hong Kong. On June 23, he traveled to Russia.
Snowden was granted permanent residency in Russia in 2020. He said at the time that he planned to apply for Russian citizenship, but not to renounce U.S. citizenship.
image source,Reuters
Snowden faces espionage charges in the United States that could lead to decades in prison (file photo).
That same year, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the NSA’s program to monitor the phone records of millions of Americans was illegal. Department officials previously said the surveillance program played a role in combating terrorism.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news conference Monday that the U.S. was unaware of any changes to Snowden’s U.S. citizenship.
Price said Washington had not changed its stance and that Snowden should return to the United States to face justice.