Edward Snowden received Russian citizenship
Controversial American whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. The former United States intelligence contractor fled to Russia for his safety after revealing to the public secret surveillance programmes the US National Security Agency had been running on its citizens.
While US and Russian relationships are strained over the invasion of Ukraine, Putin included Snowden on the list of people granted Russian citizenship on Monday. The approval was from a years-old request by Snowden. In 2020, he applied for citizenship to allow his American wife to travel between the two countries more easily.
In 2013, Snowden leaked documents that showed the US government were violating the constitutional right to privacy. He gave media information on enormous communication metadata and other private information collections from US citizens by NSA. After being exposed, laws were passed to protect citizens from having their private data surveilled.
The 39 year old fled the US to avoid prosecution as the US Justice Department filed felony charges in a criminal complaint. They charged him with disclosing crucial US defence information, providing classified materials to unauthorized persons, and theft of government property. The theft charge is similar to charges many speculate former president Donald Trump may face due to the classified documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago home.
Snowden fled to Russia nearly a decade ago. Now with citizenship, he took to his Twitter account to express his happiness in keeping his family together.
“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.”
While living in Russia in exile, Snowden married his American girlfriend in 2017 in Moscow and they had a son together in 2020. Earlier in 2022, they had a second son. He sought Russian citizenship after their first son to keep his family together, especially with the looming travel restrictions of the Covid pandemic.
Snowden’s wife will now apply for Russian citizenship. But he noted that he will retain his American citizenship and raise his children as Americans. He discussed it when he first applied to be Russian.
“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.”
The White House Press Secretary deferred questions on Snowden to the Department of Justice. But a spokesperson for the US State Department said that he should return to the US for justice to be served. He confirmed that Snowden’s citizenship status has not changed due to his becoming a Russian citizen, and threw in a dig at Putin’s war in Ukraine.
“Mr Snowden should return to the United States where he should face justice as any other American citizen would. I’m not aware of any change in his citizenship status. The only thing that has changed is that as a result of his Russian citizenship, apparently now he may well be conscripted to fight in the reckless war.”
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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