The famous whistleblower has been living in Russia since 2013 after he was stripped of his US passport for leaking classified documents revealing US domestic surveillance programs and an international espionage web.
Edward Snowden has officially become a Russian citizen, taking an oath of allegiance and receiving a Russian passport on Thursday, Anatoly Kucherena, the US-born whistleblower's lawyer, said.
He noted that Snowden is thankful for the opportunity to become Russian, stressing that now he can't be extradited to a foreign state. In the meantime, Snowden's wife is also applying for Russian citizenship, he added.
The official ceremony comes after a September decree by President Vladimir Putin granted Snowden Russian citizenship. The ex-CIA contractor commented on the issue, saying that after "two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile" obtaining a Russian passport would provide stability for him, his wife, and two sons.
In June 2013, Snowden was charged by the US Justice Department with violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and government property theft, after he exposed classified data to the press. The data showed that US intelligence services and their allies were spying on US citizens and foreign leaders on a grand scale.
Following this, he had to escape the US and his passport was revoked when Snowden was heading to South America. He had to spend a month in Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport until the Russian government granted him asylum.
Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor turned rapporteur, had previously been granted Russian citizenship in September 2022. The news was confirmed in a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin posted Monday to the Kremlin's website.
Snowden first arrived in Russia in 2013 after leaking secret files that revealed a vast web of domestic and international surveillance by the U.S. government. The Kremlin subsequently granted him asylum, even as the U.S. pursued espionage charges.
In 2020, Snowden announced he and his wife had applied for Russian citizenship as they were expecting their first child during the pandemic.
The whistleblower has maintained — and defended — his silence over the Kremlin's recent actions in Ukraine, saying his views were no longer "useful" after he wrongly insisted U.S. intelligence was flawed in predicting a Russian attack on its neighbor.
"Yes, he got [a passport], he took the oath," Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden's lawyer, told the state news agency TASS.
Snowden, 39, did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment on the report.
Defenders of Snowden hail him as a modern-day dissident for exposing the extent of U.S. spying. Opponents say he is a traitor who endangered lives by exposing the secret methods that Western spies use to listen in on hostile states and militants.
It’s unclear whether Snowden swore the oath of allegiance at the same time as he was granted a passport, but the two are common procedures when foreigners become Russian citizens. The text includes swearing “to protect the freedom and independence of the Russian Federation, to be loyal to Russia, to respect its culture, history and traditions,” and to promise to “perform the duties of a citizen of the Russian Federation for the good of the state and society.”
added that Snowden’s wife, Lindsay Mills, was also undergoing the Russian citizenship application process and that the couple’s children would likely attend Russian schools, when ready. He said he communicated mainly in English with his client but that Snowden also speaks Russian, albeit “not perfectly.”
After being granted citizenship, Snowden tweeted : “After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS. After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them and for us all.”
After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) September 26, 2022
After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them—and for us all. https://t.co/24NUK21TAo pic.twitter.com/qLfp47uzZ4
He explained his decision to seek dual citizenship on Twitter in 2020 as being necessary to prevent being separated from his son. In an “era of pandemics and closed borders, we’re applying for dual US-Russian citizenship,” he wrote.
“Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love — including the freedom to speak his mind. And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited,” he added.
Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love—including the freedom to speak his mind. And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) November 1, 2020
Snowden’s revelations, published first in The Washington Post and the Guardian newspaper in 2013, caused international shock waves and were among the most consequential intelligence breaches in U.S. history.
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