Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has welcomed news that Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted him Russian citizenship.
Snowden is accused of spying and theft of government property in the US for leaking large amounts of information to the media about US intelligence and mass surveillance programs.
The 39-year-old lives in exile in Moscow after initially traveling to Hong Kong after disclosing the classified information in 2013. He faces up to 30 years in prison in the US.
In November 2020, Snowden and his wife, Lindsay Mills, applied for Russian citizenship. He had already obtained a permanent residence permit in Russia.
In a tweet he wrote, “After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS,” and posted a photo of him, his wife and their two children.
“After two years of waiting and almost ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference to my family. I pray for privacy for them – and for all of us,” he continued.
Some context:
Putin’s decision to grant Snowden citizenship comes just days after the Russian president threatened to escalate his war in Ukraine and announced the “partial mobilization” of civilians.
In 2016, the US Congress released a report stating that Snowden had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials since his arrival in Russia. Snowden immediately disputed the allegations, writing on Twitter “they claim without proof that I am in cahoots with the Russians.”
Snowden would not be subject to Putin’s “partial mobilization” as he has not served in the Russian military, according to his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, as quoted Monday by Russian state media RIA Novosti.
“Now the spouse will get the citizenship after receiving it. Now the husband will sign up,” Kucherena told RIA Novosti, referring to Snowden’s wife, Mills.
According to the lawyer, Snowden has a child who was born in the Russian Federation and was given Russian citizenship at birth.