The legal proceedings to grant temporary asylum to Snowden could take a week, said lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who volunteered to represent the 30-year-old U.S. man.
In case of being granted temporary asylum, the also ex-agent of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) could enjoy all the rights and guarantees of a citizen of this country, the lawyer told the television channel Russia Today (RT).
Kucherena asserted that the NSA ex-contractor would have a refugee identification that he would be able to renew every year, and would have to seek accommodation on his own in Russia, although the lawyer asserted to have offered him help in that reference.
The young US man recalled that his temporary-asylum petition was also motivated by fear of being tortured or executed in the United States, where those practices are still allowed.
Snowden confessed that he had never witnessed such level of persecution by the United States against one of its citizens as before, the Russian lawyer asserted, as quoted by RT.
On Friday, the ex-CIA agent met in Shemeretievo transit area with human-rights attorneys and announced that he would request asylum in Russia, the Government of which is demanding that he stops his spying denunciations against Washington.
Before leaving Hong Kong for this capital on June 23, Snowden denounced that US intelligence accessed servers of important Internet-providing companies, tapped telephone calls and intercepted e-mails by millions of people.
Russia-US Relations Beyond Snowden Case, says Putin
Russia and United States relations are beyond the disputes between their intelligence services, particularly about Edward Snowden’s case, said Russian president Vladimir Putin today.
Putin reiterated that the former analyst of the National Security Agency (NSA) has been told not to reveal information that could damage United States, said Russia Today (RT) TV station.
“I can not release details. We have warned Snowden that any action against United States is unacceptable”, said Putin when he was asked about possible ways of controlling Snowden’s actions.
The Russian president said that it was not probable that Snowden would stay in Russia for the rest of his life.
“I find it hard to understand how a young man like him chose that, but it was his choice”, he said.
Since June 23rd, the former contractor for the NSA has stayed at Sheremetievo airport‘s transit area, where he arrived from Hong Kong, after leaking information on an espionage program carried out worldwide by United States.
Russia Today mentioned a possible transfer of Snowden, who gave information about the Prism program, by which NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had access to internet servers and tapped telephone calls.
The Russian Federal Service of Immigration confirmed yesterday that it received Snowden’s asylum request, a process which may take at least 3 months.
Via PL