US whistle-blower Snowden defends acceptance of Russian citizenship
- He has repeatedly made it clear he applied for asylum in Russia out of necessity because he is threatened with extradition to the US by other countries
- Snowden is wanted by the US for giving journalists documents on the spying activities of the National Security Agency and its British counterpart in 2013
US whistle-blower Edward Snowden has defended his choice to accept Russian citizenship against criticism.
“I am in Russia because the White House deliberately cancelled my passport to detain me here,” Snowden tweeted. “They brought down the President of Bolivia’s diplomatic plane to prevent me from leaving the country and continue to impede my freedom of movement to this day.”
Snowden was referring to a 2013 incident in which the Bolivian president’s plane was forced to touch down in Austria because overflight rights to other European countries were denied. The incident came as the plane was departing Russia, amid speculation that Snowden might be on board.
Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Snowden Russian citizenship in September. Snowden also received a Russian passport this week, according to his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena.
US whistle-blower Snowden gets Russian passport, takes citizenship oath
Snowden is wanted by the US because, in 2013, he gave journalists documents on the spying activities of the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its British counterpart GCHQ.
The 39-year-old has repeatedly made it clear that he has applied for asylum in Russia out of necessity because he is threatened with extradition to the US in other countries.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Friday that Snowden had long signalled his allegiance to Russia. Russian citizenship would further confirm that status, Price said.
Snowden has repeatedly said he will not cooperate with Russian authorities. Rather, he said, the decision to apply for citizenship was made after his son was born in Russia to have the same rights as him. The child, born in 2020, automatically received Russian citizenship.
