Russia grants Edward Snowden extended asylum

Moscow, Aug 7: Fugitive US intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden has been given residence permit for three years in Russia, his lawyer said Thursday.

"He has got a three-year residence permit starting from Aug 1," ITAR-TASS quoted Anatoly Kucherena as saying in a news conference.

The Russian Federal Migration Service (FMS) granted 30-year-old Snowden one-year permission for temporary asylum in Russia Aug 1, 2013.

The permission expired July 31 in this year.

Kucherena noted that Snowden might apply for Russian citizenship in the future.

"He is also free to move across the country and travel abroad, but for a term not exceeding three months, since, according to the legislation, the residence permit may be cancelled," Kucherena said.

Snowden, a former US defence contractor, faces three felony charges in the US after he unveiled the country's highly classified intelligence project codenamed PRISM.

He fled to Russia in June, 2013, only to find his passport revoked by Washington and was reportedly trapped in Moscow airport's transit area for over a month before receiving a one-year asylum.

IANS