17/07/2013 16:13
Snowden applies for temporary asylum in Russia
American intelligence-leaker Edward Snowden applied for temporary asylum in Russia on Tuesday, a move that might soon allow him to leave Moscow's international airport while the request is considered, a Russian lawyer who helped him with the request told CNN.
If the request is granted, Snowden would be able to live in Russia -- and even travel abroad -- for at least a year, lawyer Anatoly Kucherena said.
And, despite previous indications that Snowden eventually wanted refuge in Latin America, Kucherena indicated Tuesday that Snowden might take his time in Russia.
"As far as I know, he's planning to stay in Russia to learn Russian culture, Russian language and (to) live here," Kucherena said.
Kucherena told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that Snowden "intends to stay in Russia for now."
"I asked him (what his plans were), he doesn't plan to go anywhere just yet," Kucherena said, according to RIA Novosti.
This is the latest in a series of steps that Snowden has made in an attempt to establish a life outside the United States, where he faces espionage charges after publicly admitting that he released documents to the media that exposed U.S. mass surveillance programs.
Kucherena said Snowden wrote the asylum request Tuesday at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport, where he has been holed up for the past three weeks because the United States revoked his passport.
Russia's Federal Migration Service could take up to three months to consider Snowden's request, said Kucherena, a lawyer with a Kremlin advisory body.
Within a few days, Snowden should receive a certificate showing that the request is under consideration, and that certificate will allow him to legally leave the airport's transit area, Kucherena said.