Russian President Vladimir Putin granted former NSA contractor Edward Snowden Russian citizenship, according to an official decree published on the Russian government portal on Monday.
Snowden is charged with espionage and theft of US government property for leaking information about US intelligence and mass surveillance programs to the media.
The 39-year-old was living in exile in Moscow after initially traveling to Hong Kong after the classified information was publicly disclosed in 2013. He faces up to 30 years in prison in the US.
In November 2020, Snowden and his wife, Lindsay Mills, applied for Russian citizenship. He had already received permanent residence in Russia.
Putin’s decision to grant citizenship to Snowden comes days after the Russian President threatened to escalate the war in Ukraine, announcing the “partial mobilization” of citizens.
In 2016, the US Congress released a report that said Snowden had been in contact with Russian intelligence officials since he arrived in Russia. Snowden immediately disputed the accusations, writing on Twitter “they claim without evidence that I am in collusion with the Russians.”
In a tweet on Monday, Snowden wrote: “After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to separate from our Sons. After two years of waiting and almost ten years of exile, a little stability will make all the difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them – and for all of us.”
Snowden will not be subject to the “partial mobilization” announced by Putin after not serving in the Russian military, according to his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti on Monday.
“Now the husband will get the citizenship after he gets it. Now the husband will apply,” Kucherena told RIA Novosti, referring to Snowden’s wife, Mills.
According to the lawyer, Snowden has a child who was born in the Russian Federation and received Russian citizenship at birth.
