Google – AFP, Stuart Williams and Maria Antonova (AFP), 1 Aug 2013
 |
Edward
Snowden, seen in an interview with The Guardian on June 6, 2013
(The
Guardian/AFP/File)
|
MOSCOW —
Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden on Thursday stepped out of the
Moscow airport where he was marooned for over five weeks, after Russia granted
him one year's asylum to the fury of the United States.
Snowden
slipped out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport in a cloak-and-dagger operation
overseen by his Russian lawyer but unnoticed by the hordes of media trying to
follow his every move.
The White
House said it was "extremely disappointed" that the former National
Security Agency (NSA) contractor was given asylum by Moscow and said it would
now review the need for a US-Russia summit in September.
Snowden,
30, is wanted on felony charges by the United States after leaking sensational
details of vast US surveillance programmes, but Russia has refused to extradite
him.
The fugitive
was whisked away in a taxi to an undisclosed location, leaving his lawyer to
reveal that he had received temporary asylum in Russia just two weeks after
making an application.
 |
German
activists hold posters of Edward
Snowden as they protest in Berlin, on
July 27, 2013 (AFP/File, John MacDougall)
|
A
spokeswoman for Sheremetyevo confirmed he had left the airport after 2:00 pm
(1000 GMT). A grainy still image broadcast by Rossiya 24 television showed a
young man with a rucksack -- apparently Snowden -- about to get into a car
outside the airport.
In a
statement released by the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website, Snowden thanked
Russia for giving him asylum and slammed the administration of US President Barack
Obama for having "no respect" for international or domestic law.
"But
in the end the law is winning," Snowden said.
--- 'A safe
place' ---
Kucherena,
who had held several meetings with Snowden and helped him make his asylum
application on July 16, added his new place of residence would be kept secret
for security reasons.
"His
location is not being made public for security reasons since he is the most
pursued man on the planet. He himself will decide where he will go,"
Kucherena said, adding Snowden was now in a "safe place".
Interviewed
by Rossiya 24 television, Kucherena held up a scanned copy of Snowden's asylum
certificate. It was issued on July 31, valid until July 31 of 2014, and is
complete with his fingerprint.
Kucherna
said that Snowden would eventually emerge into public view and give interviews
to the press. But he said Snowden first required an "adaptation
course" after so long in the transit zone.
He added
that Snowden would be helped in Russia by unspecified "American
friends" who would assist with the fugitive's security.
Meanwhile,
the founder of Russia's most popular social network VKontakte -- 28-year-old
Pavel Durov -- offered a job to Snowden as a programmer.
Snowden has
been staying in the transit zone of the Sheremetyevo airport north of Moscow
since he flew in from Hong Kong on June 23. Until now, he had never formally
crossed the Russian border.
---
'Extremely disappointed' ---
Awarding
Snowden asylum status in Russia came two days after US soldier Bradley Manning
was convicted of espionage for leaking US secrets to WikiLeaks.
WikiLeaks,
which has supported Snowden, said on Twitter that Snowden was still "under
the care" of WikiLeaks British staffer Sarah Harrison who flew in with him
from Hong Kong and is believed to have been with him ever since.
 |
A woman
watches a footage on her
computer, showing Edward Snowden's
one year's asylum
permit (AFP)
|
The White
House warned that the decision could prompt Obama to cancel a planned visit to
Moscow in September for talks with President Vladimir Putin ahead of the Saint
Petersburg G20 summit.
"We're
extremely disappointed," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.
"We're evaluating the utility of a summit in light of this."
"This
move by the Russian government undermines a long-standing record of law
enforcement cooperation," he added.
Robert
Menendez, chairman of the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, described
the asylum as a "setback" for US-Russia relations.
"Edward
Snowden is a fugitive who belongs in a United States courtroom, not a free man
deserving of asylum in Russia," he said.
Putin's
foreign policy advisor Yury Ushakov rapidly sought to limit the potential
diplomatic damage, saying that the situation should not affect relations with
Washington.
"This
situation is rather insignificant and should not influence political relations
between Russia and the US," Ushakov said.
The Russian
strongman has so far made no comment. As the news of Snowden's flight from the
airport broke, Putin was holding a meeting on military cooperation with the
visiting president of Tajikistan.
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Photograph: composite
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