MOSCOW: Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed the scope of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) secret monitoring, has pledged an oath of allegiance to Russia and got a Russian passport, according to TASS.
“Yes, he acquired [a passport], he took the oath,” Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told the state news agency TASS.
“This is still a criminal investigation,” White House spokesman John Kirby said on Friday, addressing any queries regarding the Snowden story to the US Department of Justice, which declined to comment.
Snowden has been wanted in the United States for years to face a criminal trial on espionage accusations.
Snowden was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin in September after fleeing the United States after leaking secret papers revealing the massive spying activities of the United States and its allies.
“I’m in Russia because the White House canceled my passport on purpose to keep me here.” They shot down the President of Bolivia’s diplomatic plane to keep me from leaving, and they continue to restrict my freedom of travel to this day,” Snowden, 39, stated on Twitter on Friday, referring to events in 2013.
Snowden was referring to a July 2013 event in which Bolivia alleged that its presidential jet flying Evo Morales from Russia to Bolivia had been rerouted and forced to land in Austria due to suspicions that Snowden was on board.
Snowden’s supporters celebrate him as a modern-day dissident for exposing the scope of US espionage and alleged privacy violations. Opponents claim he is a traitor who jeopardized lives by exposing the covert tactics used by Western spies to spy on foreign states and insurgents.
Source: Reuters