Edward Snowden allowed to leave Moscow airport

Edward Snowden will finally be able to leave the Moscow airport’s transit zone for the first time since he arrived there on June 23 from Hong Kong.

Russian news service RT reports that Russia’s Immigration Service has given Snowden approval to leave the airport. “The American is currently getting ready to leave. He will be given new clothes. Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena will bring the papers he needs to leave the transit zone of the airport,” a source for Interfax said, RT reports.

Journalists at the airport spotted Kucherena arriving at the airport, carrying a brown paper bag. He has all the necessary paperwork for Snowden and would not speak with reporters before speaking with Snowden.

However, The BBC notes that there hasn't been an official statement from the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that he would not turn Snowden over the the U.S. government, which he isn’t required to do since the U.S. doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Russia. Putin did set conditions though, saying that he could stay in Russia as long as he stops leaking U.S. documents.

Snowden was last seen publicly earlier this month when he met with human rights groups at the airport. Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald later said that Snowden does have more documents he could leak but has refused to allow them to be published.

Snowden leaked NSA documents on the agency’s surveillance programs and is charged with espionage. Several Latin American countries have said that they will grant him asylum.

image: YouTube

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