Edward Snowden has been granted asylum In Russia for at least one year. The NSA whistleblower was allowed to leave the Moscow International Airport and enter the country on Thursday under temporary asylum.
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For the past five weeks, Snowden has been in a state of limbo living in the Moscow airport unable to enter the country but also unable to board a flight to another place fearing the U.S. government would arrest him.
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Edward Snowden is wanted by the United States for leaking classified documents regarding the NSA's email and phone surveillance programs. The U.S. requested Russia turn Snowden over to them for prosecution when he first arrived in the country.
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According to the Washington Post, Anatoly Kucherena, an attorney for Snowden, told the Russian media that his client has left the airport and is on his way to a secure location. Edward Snowden will be allowed to live and work in Russia for one year while the government considers his request for permanent asylum.
Snowden's lawyer said his client is "the most wanted man on the planet...and needed time to adapt to Russian realities." Kucherena also told the Russian media he would be working to get Snowden's father a visa so he may be allowed to visit his son.
CNN reports that the attorney for Lon Snowden, Edward's father, appeared on Anderson Cooper and relayed the conversation the two lawyers had about the Snowdens.
"There may be a time where it would be constructive to try and meet and see whether there can't be common ground that everyone agrees would advance the interest, the United States, Mr. Snowden, Lon, his father, and the interest of Russia in trying to resolve this in a way that honors due process and the highest principles of fairness and civilization," Lon Snowden's lawyer, Bruce Fein, said.
CNN also reports that Snowden issued another leak regarding the NSA surveillance program. According to Snowden, the NSA can view anything you have ever done on the Internet. This includes checking browser history, looking through emails and viewing online chats.
The U.S. and Russia have always had a rocky relationship and the Obama administration has made threats telling Russian officials they would pull out of meetings if Snowden were allowed in the country. There has been no official reaction by the Obama administration regarding Snowden's asylum as of yet.
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