Tue 03 November 2020:
The US whistleblower Edward Snowden and his wife are applying for Russian citizenship in order not to be separated from their future son in an era of pandemics and closed borders, he said on Monday.
“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,” Snowden said on Twitter.
“Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love – including the freedom to speak his mind. And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited,” he added.
Snowden’s lawyer Anatoly Kucherena announced the pregnancy on Thursday, saying the child will be granted Russian citizenship by birthright.
Russia has already granted Snowden permanent residency rights, his lawyer said last month, a vital step towards Russian citizenship.
Snowden is benefiting from an immigration reform signed into law by Vladimir Putin in April that allows foreigners to receive a Russian passport without renouncing other citizenships.
Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer for Snowden, told Interfax: “Edward has asked me to assist in filing his application for Russian citizenship.”
The reason was to hold the same citizenship as his son, he said.
“Edward has told me that their baby is expected to be born in December; considering that the baby will be entitled to Russian citizenship by the birthright, he also wants to be a citizen of Russia,” Kucherena said, according to Interfax.
Former US National Security Agency contractor Snowden, who leaked thousands of documents detailing a long-term surveillance program by the American government, was given asylum in Russia in 2013.
In 2014, Snowden’s long-term girlfriend Mills joined him in Russia, and in 2017 they got married.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
