"I’ve told the government I would return if they would guarantee a fair trial where I can make a public interest defense of why this was done and allow a jury to decide… The United States criticizes me for being in Russia, but at the same time, they won’t let me leave," Snowden said Saturday, as quoted by the WMUR9 television channel addressing the New Hampshire Liberty Forum via Skype.
In 2013, Snowden started revealing classified documents pertaining to mass surveillance practices carried out by US authorities around the globe. The same year, Russia granted the whistleblower temporary asylum for one year. In August 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit to live in Russia.
In the United States, he faces up to 30 years in prison on charges of espionage and theft of government property.
