Snowden Granted Asylum in Russia

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By Dhiya Kuriakose2013-08-01 13:55:45 UTC

The Russian government has granted Edward Snowden asylum for one year.

Snowden, who has been holed up in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport since June 23, departed on Thursday with WikiLeaks’s legal adviser Sarah Harrison and moved to an undisclosed location.

Snowden requested asylum in 21 countries and applied for a temporary protection visa with Russia's ministry of immigration on July 16.

See also: Another Snowden Leak: NSA Program Taps Everything You Do Online

While Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia had expressed willingness to accept him, the United States pressured countries to deny him refuge.

Snowden and his legal team withdrew his initial application for asylum in Russia after President Vladimir Putin stipulated that he had to stop leaking United States' secrets before the country would grant his request.

While this has put a strain on the already difficult U.S.-Russia relationship, President Obama is still scheduled to visit Moscow before the G-20 summit in St. Petersburg next month.

Image: Getty, John MacDougall

Topics: edward snowden, NSA, Politics, russia, U.S., US & World, Vladimir Putin, WikiLeaks, World