The former employee of the CIA and the US National Security Agency, Edward Snowden, received a Russian passport, his lawyer told the Russian Interfax news agency.

"Yesterday Edward received a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation and took an oath in accordance with the law," the lawyer said, referring to December 1.

He added that Snowden was grateful to Russia for the citizenship and "most importantly, according to the Russian constitution, he cannot be extradited to a foreign country."

At the end of September, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting citizenship to foreigners, among whom was the American who leaked information about the work of the US intelligence service.

In 2013, Snowden gave the media information about US intelligence agencies' worldwide surveillance programs. The publications caused a wide resonance. He was charged in absentia with espionage and theft of government property in the US, having first fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia.

According to Interfax, Snowden's wife has also applied for a Russian passport and is already collecting documents for it.

Follow Novinite.com on Twitter and Facebook

Write to us at editors@novinite.com

Информирайте се на Български - Novinite.bg

/Dnevnik

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!