“After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I do not intend to be separated from our son. That is why, at this time of pandemic and closed borders, we are asking for the possibility of dual American and Russian citizenship, “Snowden wrote on his application on Twitter. “Our wish is for our son to feel at home wherever he lives,” he added.
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After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That’s why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we’re applying for dual US-Russian citizenship. https://t.co/cCgT0rr37e
– Edward Snowden (@Snowden) November 1, 2020
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His original residence permit in Russia expired in April, and was extended until June due to a pandemic. Russia subsequently allowed him to stay on its territory for an indefinite period, without having to ask for another extension.
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Snowden used to be a collaborator with the US National Security Agency (NSA), but in 2013 he released classified information about the use of US citizens’ phone records by the secret services. He is accused of espionage and theft and faces up to 20 years in prison in the United States. Russia granted him asylum after fleeing the United States.
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In one of the previous interviews, Snowden said that in 2017 he married American Lindsay Mills in Moscow. The British website MailOnline wrote in October that Mills announced on Twitter that they were expecting a descendant with Snowden.
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Snowden has now said that he and his wife will remain Americans and intend to raise their son with the values of the America they love, including the right of everyone to say publicly what they think. “And I’m looking forward to the day when I can return to the States so that the whole family can be together,” Snowden added.
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Snowden revealed how extensive electronic communications are being monitored by US intelligence. He is being prosecuted in the United States for that. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the mass data collection program for American phone calls was not in accordance with federal law and could be unconstitutional.
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“I never imagined that I would live to see our courts condemn the NSA’s activities as illegal and, in the same verdict, recognize my merits in detecting them,” Snowden wrote on Twitter at the time.
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