Snowden Receives Russian Passport After Taking Citizenship Pledge

According to Russian media, Edward Snowden received a Russian passport after taking the citizenship pledge on Thursday.

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, ...

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