Interfax: Russia has no legal grounds to extradite Snowden – official

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(Interfax – July 25, 2013) Russia does not have legal grounds for extraditing former CIA employee Edward Snowden to the United States, Federal Migration Service Public Council head Vladimir Volokh stated. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul wrote on Twitter earlier that the United States had asked Russia simply for Snowden’s return home but did not file an extradition request. […]

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Ambassador: U.S. clearly communicates concerns over Snowden to Russian government

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 22, 2013) U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has declined claims that the Embassy allegedly takes no interest in former CIA employee Edward Snowden. “We have communicated our concerns clearly and frequently to the Russian government,” he wrote on Twitter in reply to a statement by Russian Public Chamber member, lawyer Anatoly Kucherena who alleged insufficient […]

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Russian Intelligence Intends to Gag Snowden and Keep Him in Russia

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(Eurasia Daily Monitor: Volume 10, Issue 132 – Pavel Felgenhauer – Jamestown Foundation – jamestown.org – July 18, 2013) Edward Snowden, the contractor who worked as a systems administrator at a US National Security Agency (NSA) facility in Hawaii, arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on June 23, apparently planning to fly to Havana the next day, but has stayed […]

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Why Putin Despises Snowden

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Michael Bohm, Opinion Page Editor of The Moscow Times  – July 19, 2013) When Edward Snowden, with the assistance of his curators in the Russian government, held his makeshift news conference last Friday in Sheremetyevo Airport’s transit zone, it was no surprise that pro-Kremlin opinion makers dominated the short, invitation-only list of attendees. Among them […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin excerpt re: Snowden] Answers to journalists’ to journalists’ questions after watching Central and Easter Military District training exercises at Tsugol test ground

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(Kremlin.ru – July 17, 2013)  [excerpt re: Snowden] QUESTION: Mr President, I want to ask about [Edward] Snowden. What happened with [Bolivian President Evo] Morales showed that the White House will stop short of nothing in this case. Aren’t you worried that it might jeopardise the upcoming Russian-American summit? Also, it seems that the biggest question now is how you […]

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Refuge or Asylum? Snowden’s Options in Russia

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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 17, 2013) It took fugitive former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden more than three days to submit an official request for asylum in Russia, after he voiced his intention to do so at meeting with human rights activists last Friday in his Moscow airport refuge. According to Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who helped Snowden with […]

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Snowden Bows to Putin’s Demand to Stop Harming U.S.

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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer – July 16, 2013) Fugitive U.S. ex-security contractor Edward Snowden has agreed to Russia’s demand that he stop anti-American activity and asked for temporary asylum, a Russian lawyer advising him said. Snowden “confirmed to me personally that he will accept these conditions,” Anatoly Kucherena said by phone today. Asked if that meant the American […]

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Snowden Saga Fuels Difficult Questions

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 16, 2013) President Vladimir Putin said Monday that NSA leaker Edward Snowden would leave Russia “as soon as the opportunity arises” and that the U.S. had blocked any further movement for the fugitive,  adding more intrigue to the ongoing whistleblower saga. “The conditions for political asylum are clear to him, and […]

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Snowden to stay in airport transit zone or move to shelter – FMS source

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(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 16, 2013) Former CIA employee Edward Snowden who filed his request for temporary refuge in Russia on Tuesday will be staying in the transit zone of the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport or move to a shelter for asylum seekers within the next few days, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service’s Public Council Vladimir Volokh told Interfax. […]

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The Kremlin’s cunning Snowden plan

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(Moscow News – Anna Arutunyan, Editor and Correspondent at themoscownews.com – July 15, 2013) On Friday, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden invited about a dozen Russian rights activists to the transit zone of Sheremetyevo Airport, where he’s been holed up for three weeks. The announcement took about 200 journalists on a wild goose chase, and a weekend later, there’s still a […]

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The vicious circle of Edward Snowden

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(Valdai Dicussion Club – July 16, 2013 –  Fyodor Lukyanov) “There is a wealth of choice, but no other alternative.” This tag line was extremely popular in the early 1990s, although no one is likely now to remember what the Alternativa research and production association produced. But it was a good line, and Edward Snowden could have used it to […]

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Decision to be made on Snowden within three months – migration service

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 16, 2013) A decision on granting asylum to ex-CIA employee Edward Snowden will be made within three months, a highly-placed official with the Federal Migration Service told Interfax on Tuesday. “A decision will be made in compliance with the legal timeframe, within three months,” he said. Federal Migration Service spokeswoman Zalina Kornilova has confirmed to Interfax […]

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Snowden healthy, neat and prosperous – source

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 15, 2013) Former CIA officer Edward Snowden is well and does not need medical attendance, a source in the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport services told Interfax. “Passenger Snowden is well. He has not asked airport doctors for aid, which means he is well and does not have any health complaints. He did not ask for assistance from […]

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Snowden Puts His Future in Russia’s Hands

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 15, 2013) Former U.S. National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden met with Russian human rights activists, lawyers and government officials Friday to seek their support in securing asylum in Russia in order to later travel safely to South America, leaving Russia with little wriggle room to remain neutral. “I do intend […]

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JRL NEWSBLOG: ITAR-TASS reports on text of Edward Snowden’s message inviting rights activists to conference

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[Text of Edward Snowden’s message inviting rights activists to conference revealed – ITAR-TASS – MOSCOW, July 12, 2013 – http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c32/805618.html] Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reports on fugitive Edward Snowden, former NSA IT support contractor, and his e-mail message to Russian activists, which later resulted in a video news conference with the activists at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. Click here for the […]

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JRL NEWSBLOG: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

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[Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia – New York Times – Ellen Barry – July 12, 2013 – http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/13/world/europe/snowden-russia-asylum.html] Ellen Barry of The New York Times reports on fugitive Edward Snowden, former NSA IT support contractor, and his renewed interest in gaining asylum in Russia: … Snowden, the fugitive American intelligence contractor, met with representatives of […]

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JRL NEWSBLOG: Russia Today: Snowden wants asylum in Russia, ready to meet condition not to damage U.S.

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[Snowden wants asylum in Russia, ready to meet condition not to damage US – russiatoday.com – July 12, 2013 – http://rt.com/news/snowden-meets-rights-activists-013/] Pro-Kremlin Russia Today reports that the fugitive former NSA IT support contractor Edward Snowden, wanted for espionage in the United States, once again is seeking asylum in Russia: NSA leaker & former CIA employee Edward Snowden has asked for […]

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Germans Hail Snowden as NSA Evokes Stasi Seizing Lives of Others

Stylized Artist's Depiction of Shadowy Figures in Dark Coats and Dark Hats, One Carrying a Briefcase

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Cornelius Rahn & Leon Mangasarian – July 10, 2013) Willi Kuhlmann remembers the day the Berlin Wall was erected on Aug. 13, 1961, and how the system of spying on East German citizens by secret police known as the Stasi intensified. His experience as a border guard along the Wall that divided Germany’s capital city for […]

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Snowden stays put in Sheremetyevo transit zone – source

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(Interfax – MOSCOW. July 3, 2013) Former CIA officer Edward Snowden stays put in the Sheremetyevo Airport transit zone, an airport representative told Interfax. “Passenger Snowden remains in the transit zone. He is unable to board a flight or even leave the transit zone because he has no documents,” the source said.

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RIA Novosti: Russian Officials Back Snowden, Issue ‘Not on’ Kremlin Agenda

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(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, July 1, 2013) ­ Russian lawmakers and officials voiced support for fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden at a round table meeting in the Public Chamber on Monday, in contrast to muted comments by the Kremlin’s spokesperson who has said that Snowden is “not on the Kremlin’s agenda.” The head of Russia’s Presidential Human Rights Council, […]

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RIA Novosti: Agreeing to Disagree on Snowden

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(RIA Novosti – Fyodor Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal, authoritative source of expertise on Russian foreign policy and global developments – June 28, 2013) The Snowden affair is fresh evidence of how much the world has changed in a historically short period of time. In the not too distant past, spies were the main target in […]

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Looking for Snowden in ‘The Terminal’

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(Moscow News/RIA Novosti – themosconews.com – Dmitry Vinogradov, RIA Novosti – June 27, 2013)  SHEREMETYEVO ­ A burlesque of Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal is being staged in Terminal E of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Hordes of journalists flocked to the airport in the last several days hoping to find Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower who emerged into the global spotlight after […]

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Snowden fracas becomes another political football

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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – June 28, 2013) The case of NSA whistle blower Edward Snowden, who is holed up in a secret location in the transit lounge of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, has become the latest political football. It has become a regular fixture in domestic tournaments between opposing political parties around the world. Domestic poltiicians pick up the […]

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Federation Council commission to probe U.S. surveillance of Russians’ private life – Matviyenko

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Interfax – ST. PETERSBURG. June 26, 2013) An ad hoc commission of the Federation Council commission will investigate whether foreign security services have been really monitoring the private life of citizens in social networks, Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko said. “We have set up a working group, a commission entrusted with holding parliamentary inquiries. It will find out whether human […]

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Rights activists call for Russian asylum for Snowden

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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Anna Arutunyan – June 26, 2013) Prominent human rights activists in Russia are calling on the country’s authorities to offer political asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. “I’m very sad that Russia is not using this situation and is not offering Snowden the opportunity to remain on Russian territory,” Kirill Kabanov, a member of the […]

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Snowden Not Being ‘Debriefed’ by FSB – WikiLeaks

File Photo of Partial FSB Headquarters Building Facade

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 26, 2013) ­ Fugitive former CIA employee Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking state secrets, is not collaborating with Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed Wednesday. “Mr. Snowden is not being ‘debriefed’ by the FSB. He is well, and WikiLeaks’ Harrison is […]

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Snowden and Moscow: the real debate is elsewhere

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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – June 24, 2013) Whatever you think about whistleblower Edward Snowden’s future plans (or, indeed, his whereabouts) – you may be falling for a neat trick all of the same. While all of us have been busy discussing Snowden – why he did what he did, his personality, whether or not […]

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RIA Novosti: Russia Not Obliged to Expel Snowden – Border Guards

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 26, 2013) ­ US whistleblower Edward Snowden, stuck in a Russian airport since Sunday, appeared to have a transit visa ­ but even if he does not, he may get away with just a small fine, a Russian border guards spokesman told RIA Novosti on Wednesday. “Looks like he’s got a visa, that’s why he’s […]

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Interfax: Assange, Manning, Snowden are new dissidents – Pushkov

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(Interfax -MOSCOW. June 26, 2013) Alexei Pushkov, the head of the State Duma committee on international affairs, considers former CIA official Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the U.S. authorities, a dissident. “Assange, Manning and Snowden were not spies and released secret information because of their convictions, not for money. They are new dissidents, fighters against the system,” Pushkov said […]

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Snowden Didn’t Cross Russian Border – Foreign Minister

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

(RIA Novosti – MOSCOW, June 25, 2013) ­ Russia said on Tuesday that Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee wanted by the US for leaking state secrets, had not crossed the Russian border. Snowden, who leaked details of a US surveillance program to newspapers in the US and UK earlier this month, was widely reported to have flown from Hong […]

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Elusive Snowden Could Cause New Hitch in U.S.-Russia Ties

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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – June 25, 2013) Journalists flocked to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on Monday to board a flight to Cuba that supposedly would also contain fugitive Edward Snowden, who is attempting to escape arrest by U.S. authorities for revealing highly classified surveillance programs. According to a widely distributed statement by an unidentified Aeroflot employee, Snowden […]

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Snowden Flight Spotlights Politics of U.S.-Russia Crime-Fighting

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(RIA Novosti – Carl Schreck, WASHINGTON, June 24, 2013) ­ Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s reported sojourn in Moscow this week is the latest in a series of cases in recent years to rattle U.S.-Russia ties over cooperation in politically tinged criminal investigations. “Both sides have tended to regard as a purely criminal investigation [what] the other side thinks […]

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Can granting political refuge to Snowden be Cold War act?

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines/Interfax – rbth.ru – Interfax, Combined report – June 23, 2013) Russian officials are puzzled in what country former CIA officer Edward Snowden is going to apply for political asylum. Amid media reports about former CIA officer Edward Snowden’s arrival to Moscow, some Russian officials comment on the consequences of granting political asylum to him. Chairman of […]

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Will the Snowden [affair] impact the U.S.-Russia reset?

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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Igor Rozin, based on Interfax – June 24, 2013) Russian experts ask how U.S.-Russia relations will be affected by the Snowden case. While the U.S. demands that Russia detain former C.I.A. agent Edward Snowden, Russian experts ask how U.S.-Russia relations will be affected by the case. Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin argues […]

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Russia has no reasons to detain Snowden – source

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(Interfax – June 24, 2013) Russian law enforcers have no reasons so far to detain and subsequently extradite former CIA employee Edward Snowden who disclosed information about the operations of U.S. special services, a well-informed Moscow source told Interfax on Monday. “Snowden has not committed any crimes in the territory of Russia. Neither have Russian law enforcement bodies received any […]

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Moscow has questions about personal data leak in U.S. – Foreign Ministry

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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 19, 2013) The leak of personal data requested by U.S. security services will be discussed at bilateral meetings of Russia and the United States, Russian Foreign Ministry Representative for Human Rights Konstantin Dolgov said. “We have questions to ask the United States and these issues will not be overlooked in bilateral contacts with the U.S. This […]

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PRISM and SORM: Big Brother is watching

File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Kristen Blyth – June 17, 2013) George Orwell’s “1984” was, when it was published, purely a work of fiction. “There was, of course, no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment,” Orwell wrote. “You had to live in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in […]

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Moscow expresses indignation on alleged U.S. phone tapping at G20 summit

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(Interfax, combined report – June 17, 2013) The Russian Federal Protective Service is taking necessary measures to ensure confidentiality of communication between state leaders, the service told Interfax. “The Federal Protective Service is taking every necessary measure to provide the appropriate level of confidentiality of information for top-ranking officials of the country,” service spokesman Sergei Devyatov said on Monday. “Protection […]

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Russian FM Unaware of US Spy Leaker’s Asylum Request

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(RIA Novosti – RIO DE JANEIRO, June 12, 2013) ­ The head of Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that he has no information about US whistleblower Edward Snowden seeking asylum in Russia. “I haven’t heard about there being a formal [asylum] request from Snowden,” Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro. Russia will review the request […]

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Interfax: Pushkov says U.S. to be hysterical if Russia grants political asylum to surveillance leaker

Alexei Pushkov file photo

(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 11, 2013) The United States will be hysterical if Russia grants political asylum to (name/post redacted), State Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Alexei Pushkov tweeted on Tuesday. “By promising asylum to (name redacted), Moscow undertakes the protection of persons persecuted for political motives. The U.S. will be hysterical. They recognize it as their right,” he said. […]

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Watching the NSA Prism scandal from Russia

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(Moscow News – themoscownews.com – Natalia Antonova, Acting Editor-in-Chief – June 10, 2013) The NSA Prism surveillance scandal is disconcerting for many reasons – all of which I won’t get into here. What is especially curious about it is how meek other Western governments and even rights organizations are sounding when they talk about it. Amnesty International noted that the […]

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