Edward J. Snowden has been issued an “open-ended” residence permit allowing the wanted U.S. intelligence leaker to remain in Russia indefinitely, his lawyer told regional media outlets Thursday.
“Snowden was granted an open-ended residence permit earlier today,” his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told TASS, a news agency wholly owned by the Russian government, the outlet reported in English.
Mr. Snowden, a 37-year-old American, has lived in Russia for the past seven years while facing criminal charges in the U.S. for leaking classified National Security Agency material to the media.
The former NSA contractor was originally granted temporary asylum by Moscow in 2013, and he has lived there legally under a residence permit for the past several years.
Mr. Kucherena added Mr. Snowden has no plans for now to seek Russian citizenship, TASS reported. Privately-owned news agency RBC and Interfax each separately reported Mr. Kucherena said the same.
Neither the NSA leaker nor his lawyer immediately responded to inquiries from The Washington Times.
Mr. Snowden had been residing in Hong Kong when he revealed himself to be the source of leaked NSA documents exposing the agency’s vast foreign and domestic surveillance operations and abilities.
He later boarded a flight that left him stranded in Moscow during a layover when Russian officials learned the U.S. State Department had pulled his passport. He received asylum over a month later.
Mr. Snowden has previously said he would return to the U.S. if guaranteed a trial he considered fair.
Rep. Justin Amash, Michigan Libertarian, this week became the third member of the House of Representatives to co-sponsor a resolution calling for the U.S. to drop the Snowden case, meanwhile.
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