Snowden: Putin grants Russian nationality to former US agent

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  • BBC News World

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Former US intelligence agent Edward Snowden, known for leaking Washington’s secret surveillance operations, has obtained Russian nationality.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree granting him citizenship on Monday.

Snowden, 39, has lived in exile in Russia since he leaked secret information to the press in 2013 of the mass surveillance program of the National Security Agency (NSA for its acronym in English) that would have violated the privacy of millions of Americans.

Snowden, wanted in the US on espionage charges, posted a tweet following the news.

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