The United States just got a giant punch in the gut from Russia. After multiple pleas by to release fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden to American custody, the Putin administration has granted him a year’s asylum—renewable upon request—by fast tracking his request through what is normally a tortuous 3-month system.
"He will only be allowed to stay in places designated by Russian law enforcement agencies," Vladimir Volokh, the head of the public council of the Russian Federal Migration Service, told reporters last week.
As TFT reporter David Francis wrote last week, “If Snowden does decide to leave the airport, Russia's Federal Security Bureau - the new version of the KGB - will be tracking his every move.”
In a letter to Justice Minister Alexander Vladimirovich Konovalov, Attorney General Eric Holder reassured Russian officials last week that the U.S. would not seek the death penalty for Snowden and that he would not be tortured. “Torture is unlawful in the United States,” Holder wrote. “If he returns to the United States, Mr. Snowden would promptly be brought before a civilian court convened under Article III of the United States Constitution and supervised by a United States District Judge…Mr. Snowden would be appointed (or if so chose could retain) counsel.”
Holder hoped his offer would clear the way for Snowden’s extradition. Not only did U.S. efforts fail, they were rebuffed dramatically today.
