The father of American whistleblower Edward Snowden has received a Russian visa and will visit his son Å“very soon.”
Lawyer Bruce Fein who appeared alongside Lon Snowden on the US ABC television said on Sunday, Å“We have visas, we have a date, which we won’t disclose right now because of the frenzy,” referring to the planned visit to the Russian capital Moscow.
Snowden, former contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA), leaked two top secret US government spying programs, under which the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
He arrived in Russia from Hong Kong on June 23 and remained in the transit zone of Moscowâ„¢s Sheremetyevo Airport for more than one month before being granted asylum on August 1.
Lon Snowden also said Å“as a father,” he wanted his son to come back home. However, he expressed concern over whether he would face a fair trial in the US.
Å“At this point, when you consider many of the statements made by our leaders… they are absolutely irresponsible,” Snowdenâ„¢s father said, adding, Å“They have poisoned the well, so to speak, in terms of a potential jury pool.”
The 30-year-old NSA leaker is wanted in the United States, where he faces charges of espionage and theft of government property.
On August 7, US President Barack Obama canceled his face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently in retaliation for Moscow giving asylum to Snowden.
Putinâ„¢s top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said in reaction to US move that Russia is disappointed by Obamaâ„¢s decision to call off the meeting, adding that Washington Å“as before, is not ready to build relations on an equal basis.”
MR/HN
Republished from: Press TV