Whistleblower Edward Snowden “received a Russian passport (on Thursday, editor’s note) and was sworn in” to the Russian Federation, his lawyer told various Russian media outlets on Friday.
“Of course, he is happy and thanks the Russian Federation for receiving citizenship,” Master Anatoly Kucherena told Interfax. “And the most important thing is that, according to the Russian Constitution, you can no longer be extradited to a foreign state.”
This news comes as Russia is being criticized from all sides for launching an attack on Ukraine in February 2022. Some citizens have even announced that they have given up Russian citizenship.
In Russia since 2013
In September, President Vladimir Putin granted Russian citizenship to whistleblower and former NSA employee Edward Snowden, who has been a refugee in Russia since 2013 after leaving the United States.
There he is wanted for having transmitted to the press tens of thousands of NSA documents that prove the scope of electronic surveillance carried out by Washington.
These revelations had then aroused very strong tensions between the United States and its allies, and the decision of the Russian authorities to grant him a residence permit had angered Washington.
“I am in Russia because the White House intentionally canceled my passport to trap me here,” Edward Snowden tweeted on Friday.adding that US authorities “continue to interfere with my freedom of movement to this day.”
A State Department spokesman said Friday that the United States “cannot confirm or deny whether Edward Snowden acquired citizenship of the Russian Federation,” the report wrote. Washington Post.
His wife could also receive Russian citizenship.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Ria Novosti news agency in September that Edward Snowden had been granted Russian citizenship at his request, made in 2020 to facilitate the return trips of his American wife, Lindsay Mills.
“After years of being separated from our parents, my wife and I do not want to be separated from our children,” tweeted Edward Snowden. “After two years of waiting and almost ten years in exile, a little stability will make all the difference for my family,” she added.
The Russian lawyer had also specified in September that, having not served in the Russian army, the complainant would not be concerned about the mobilization order decreed by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine.
Lindsay Mills would also have started a procedure to obtain Russian nationality. Anatoly Kucherena said that the couple’s two children will return to Russian schools when they are old enough.
Source: BFM TV
