NSA leaker Edward Snowden still has a roof over his head in Russia, according to RIA Novosti:
Russian authorities have extended the temporary asylum for fugitive National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden for three years starting from August 1, his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said Thursday.
Russia’s Federal Migration Service refused to comment on the report.
“Political asylum is not under consideration. In this case, a decision was made about his residence permit. The permission was issued for three years with a possibility of extension for another three years,” Kucherena told reporters in Moscow.
The lawyer said that a foreign national may apply for Russian citizenship after living in the country for five years, but said it was up to Snowden to decide.
Snowden is free to travel in Russia and abroad, the lawyer said.
He said that a political asylum is granted by a presidential decree and is “an absolutely different procedure.”
Snowden took refuge in Putin’s kingdom at the beginning of August 2013 after going on the run in the wake of leaking sensitive information about NSA surveillance programs. His temporary asylum ran out last Thursday.
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