MOSCOW (Sputnik) – “He is in Russia. He is all right,” Kucherena said as quoted by the Russkaya Sluzhba Novostey radio station, adding that the whistleblower had no plans to leave the country in the near future.
A month ago, Kucherena told Sputnik that Snowden would consider returning to the United States, but he cannot rely on a fair trial.
In June 2013, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden started leaking millions of classified government documents disclosing the agency’s widespread surveillance of civilian, government and corporate communications.
In July 2013, he was granted a one-year temporary asylum in Russia. On August 1, 2014, after a year in Russia, Snowden received a three-year residency permit.
The US authorities have called on him to return to the United States and face trial on charges of espionage and theft of government property. If convicted, Snowden could face up to 30 years in a US prison.
