Edward Snowden has lived in exile in Russia since 2013. Now President Putin has surprisingly granted the US whistleblower Russian citizenship. Snowden applied for it after the birth of his son two years ago.
Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has granted US whistleblower Edward Snowden Russian citizenship. The 39-year-old's name is on a list of new citizens and Russians surrendering their passports published by the Kremlin. Snowden had previously revealed after his son's birth in Russia that he was applying for citizenship to have the same rights as the child born in 2020, who received Russian citizenship automatically.
According to his lawyer, he doesn't have to be afraid that he could be drafted into the war with Russian citizenship as a result of the current partial mobilization. That's not legally possible because Snowden can't prove he's served in the Russian army, his lawyer is quoted as saying in a tweet by "Meduza" journalist Kevin Rotrock. Although men with no army experience have been drafted, Snowden has not yet been registered, Rotrock adds. In addition, at the age of 39 he is no longer obliged to do so and is too well-known a personality, according to the journalist.
In 2013, Snowden gave journalists documents on spying activities by the US surveillance service NSA and its British counterpart GCHQ. According to his own statements, he wanted to flee via Hong Kong to Ecuador, but ended up stranded at the airport in Moscow after the US government canceled his passport.
Russia granted asylum to Snowden and his wife Lindsay. They applied for Russian citizenship after birth. They didn't want to risk being separated from their son, the American had said in 2020. They said they did not want to give up their American citizenship at the time.
