According to Russian media, Edward Snowden received a Russian passport after taking the citizenship pledge on Thursday.
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After taking the country’s citizenship oath, Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor who revealed the American government’s illegal mass surveillance activities, was granted a Russian passport on Thursday.
“Edward received a Russian passport yesterday and took the oath in accordance with the law,” his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said, according to Russian media. “He is, of course, happy, thanking the Russian Federation for the fact that he received citizenship.”
That citizenship comes with an enormously valuable feature: “Under the Constitution of Russia, he can no longer be extradited to a foreign state,” said Kucherena.
For providing journalists with a vast amount of classified documents about NSA surveillance operations, Snowden is being prosecuted on espionage charges.
In 2013, Snowden came to Hong Kong from Hawaii, where he worked for the NSA, where he set up meetings with reporters Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras.
To get a Russian passport, one must pledge to:
“…observe the constitution and legislation of the Russian Federation, the rights and freedoms of its citizens; perform the duties of a citizen of the Russian Federation for the benefit of the state and society; defend the freedom and independence of the Russian Federation; be loyal to Russia, respect its culture, history and traditions.”
The false assertion that Snowden “fled to Russia” after leaving Hong Kong is being repeated as a result of his citizenship and the associated oath. However, the reality is that Snowden was imprisoned in Russia by the Obama administration.
Snowden was just using Moscow as a stopover in his journey to Ecuador in order to apply for political asylum. He discovered Obama had revoked his passport once he got to Russia. He had spent 40 days at Sheremetyevo Airport and had requested asylum in 27 different nations before being granted asylum by Russian President Putin.
The NSA whistleblower was the target of fresh social media slander by a chorus of deep state useful idiots despite all the contradictory evidence that has been in plain sight for nine years. Sonny Bunch, a culture editor for Bulwark and a columnist for the Washington Post, tweeted, “Edward Snowden, Russian asset and now citizen.”
While this was going on, numerous media outlets stressed that Snowden “swore allegiance to Russia,” meaning that he had renounced his citizenship in the United States.
Lindsay Mills, Snowden’s wife, is also seeking for Russian citizenship. The couple and their two Russian-born sons reside in Moscow.
Requests for the then-President Donald Trump to release Snowden and Julian Assange were rejected.
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