President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, 9 years after he uncovered the dimensions of secret surveillance operations by the Nationwide Safety Company (NSA).
Snowden, 39, fled the US and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret information in 2013 that exposed huge home and worldwide surveillance operations carried out by the NSA, the place he labored.
US authorities have for years needed him returned to the US to face a prison trial on espionage prices.
There was no quick response from Snowden, whose title appeared with none Kremlin touch upon a listing of 72 foreign-born people on whom Putin was conferring citizenship.
In 2020, Russia granted Snowden everlasting residency rights, paving the best way for him to acquire Russian citizenship.
That yr a US appeals court docket discovered this system Snowden had uncovered was illegal and that the US intelligence leaders who publicly defended it weren’t telling the reality.
Putin, a former Russian spy chief, mentioned in 2017 that Snowden, who retains a low profile whereas residing in Russia, was flawed to leak US secrets and techniques however was not a traitor.