Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
United States News

Edward Snowden Granted Permanent Residency In Russia (securityweek.com) 178

Fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted permanent residency in Russia, his lawyer said on Thursday. wiredmikey writes: Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor who revealed in 2013 that the US government was spying on its citizens, has been living in exile in Russia since the revelations. The 37-year-old has said he would like to return to the United States. His lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told AFP on Thursday that his residency permit was extended and is now indefinite, a situation made possible by recent changes to Russia's immigration law. Kucherena said the application was filed in April but the process was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Snowden is wanted in the United States on espionage charges after he leaked information showing that agents from the National Security Agency (NSA) were collecting telephone records of millions of US citizens. When asked whether Snowden planned to apply for Russian citizenship, Kucherena said: "He will make the decision himself." Kucherena said it was "natural" that Snowden wanted to return to the United States but will only do so when the case against him is closed.
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Edward Snowden Granted Permanent Residency In Russia

Comments Filter:
  • by jelwell ( 2152 ) on Thursday October 22, 2020 @12:46PM (#60636430)

    It's sad that our greatest gift to democracy, free speech, has been so trampled on to the point where people need to flee the United States in order to speak openly.

    • Secrecy is usually a sign of shenanigans going on. Even for protection against foreign powers, it is usually true that classified documents hide illegitimate activity, under the guise of national security.

      In chess, if you must rely on stealth to win, you are not a good player. A good chess player can beat you despite your full knowledge of his tactics.

      Similarly, in network security, if you must rely on undocumented tactics for security, you aren't secure at all. Real security is gained by using well-establi

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • ...since Russia has no extradition and he can then hide from the American legal system, and all of his creditors.

    • by GlennC ( 96879 ) on Thursday October 22, 2020 @01:13PM (#60636586)

      At least until Putin invites him for a cup of tea.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      I've started thinking about this in a serious way.recently. Trump has said he's leaving the country if he loses (his supporters say he was kidding when he said it, the comedy stylings of Shecky Trump). He's got federal indictments hanging over his head, and even if he pardons himself (and it sticks in the Supreme Court), there are cases pending in NY, plus the 19? 20? rape/sexual assault cases winding their way through the court system (largely on hold because he is POTUS), plus he's got $400M-ish of debt
  • And I shall say it again:

    All Snowden, Manning and Assange have proven is that you don't want to whistleblow if it can EVER be traced back to you, unless you wish to spend the rest of your life in jail, at the beck and call of the Russian authorities, or hiding in an embassy.

    They've done whistleblowing a total dis-service. And the uproar over the information they whistleblew? Far more tilted towards the stuff that they SHOULD NOT have leaked (e.g. unrelated classified info, personal details of informants,

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • I understand your sentiment, but you have to make sure that you're not confusing whistleblowing with high treason.

      You may not see it as high treason, but you can't just call it "whistleblowing".

    • Chelsea Manning is a free woman doing the lecture circuit. >p> Nice work if you can get it â¦
    • by quenda ( 644621 )

      All Snowden, Manning and Assange have proven is that you don't want to whistleblow if it can EVER be traced back to you,

      None of them were "traced". Assange operated openly, Snowden collected data secretly, but did not hide his identity after releasing it.
      And Manning, with a history of mental illness, was successfully hidden until he confessed to a journalist (Lamo).

    • I think we have to understand that every country needs what might be called "secret services". Not everything can be in plain sight. Revealing secrets might cause great harm. For example, police investigators need to engage in covert operations, while investigating criminal gangs, frauds, or whatever. If someone blows the whistle on that kind of thing, bad people could go free. This is not to say that the police can do whatever they like, when investigating serious crimes. There are plenty of laws to preven

  • The 37-year-old has said he would like to return to the United States.

    Russia makes him an Ambassador and he has Diplomatic Immunity.

    • Hmm, this may not work. I saw an 80’s LAPD documentary that revolves around revoking diplomatic immunity on the spot.
      • Hmm, this may not work. I saw an 80' LAPD documentary that revolves around revoking diplomatic immunity on the spot.

        Ya, but I think that guy was from South Africa, not Russia.

  • I may be pessimistic, but even if the United States were to remove all existing charges against Snowden, the moment he returned, he would have a non-stop blizzard of charges laid against him for everything from jaywalking to breathing wrong. Anything and everything in the book would be thrown at him He would have non-stop surveillance and attempts at entrapment, with the intent to get him into prison as soon as possible.

    I'm not saying that the fight to clear his name isn't useless, but what I am saying is t

  • The Resident was the Chief Spy in the Russian embassy in 'The Americans'.

  • I could never have done it. I do consider it a breach of oath. But in most ways I consider him a Hero. The US Government was overreaching it's legal powers. They were violating rights. The government was doing wrong. He was only the latest in a string of people trying to expose and get the government to stop doing what it knew it shouldn't be doing and abide by the rules it's suppose to follow. When your government is breaking it's obligations and doing wrong are you loyal if you sit on your hands? He did b

    • I find this all very interesting, with respect to proposed legislation in the UK. It is proposed that undercover agents should be allowed to commit crimes, in the performance of their duties. I guess the need for this could arise when an agent infiltrates a criminal gang. I am opposed to this move. I think a crime is still a crime, even if committed by an officer of the law. I would hope that a court of law might not be too hard on an undercover police officer taking part in a crime, if it were obviously no

  • Does anyone on Slashdot realize this is another way the Kremlin is trying to sow dissent and turmoil in the days before the election?

    It has nothing to do with any of the particulars of Snowden's actions, it's all about causing trouble.

    Looking at the comments, it seems to have worked perfectly on Slashdot. You are all Putin's "useful idiots." Congratulations.

Help fight continental drift.

Working...