Putin grants Russian citizenship to whistleblower Edward Snowden

Russia has granted citizenship to former American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who fled prosecution after he exposed information about the scale of U.S. surveillance programs that capture communications and data from around the world.

Snowden, 39, was given asylum in Russia in 2013 after leaking secret files that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the National Security Agency, where he worked. He was granted permanent Russian residency in 2020 and said at the time that he planned to apply for Russian citizenship without renouncing his U.S. citizenship, as reported by the Associated Press.

In a decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, Snowden along with 75 other foreign citizens were listed as being granted Russian citizenship. Following the announcement, Snowden issued a message via Twitter: “After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them – and for us all.”

This comes as Moscow is mobilizing reservists to go to Ukraine. In Russia, almost every man is considered a reservist until age 65, and officials on Monday stressed that men with dual citizenship are also eligible for the military call-up, according to the AP. Snowden, however, has never served in the Russian armed forces, so he is not eligible to be mobilized, his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told the Interfax news agency.

For years, U.S. authorities have wanted Snowden to return to the United States to face a criminal trial. Officials point to documents he stole that pertain to to military, defense, and intelligence programs of “great interest to America’s adversaries”.

However, Snowden has garnered support for his actions and is considered by some to be a righteous whistleblower who wanted to protect American civil liberties, per AP. He exposed hundreds of thousands of documents containing information about the U.S. government’s vast network of spying operations on foreign embassies, leaders, and notably American citizens.

Seven years after he blew the whistle on the mass surveillance of Americans’ telephone records, an appeals court found the program was unlawful, according to Reuters.

Edward Snowden remains wanted in the U.S. on espionage charges. If convicted he could face up to 30 years in prison.