U.S. Tells Russia Will Not Seek Death Penalty for Snowden
The United States will not seek the death penalty for fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, according to a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder obtained by Agence France Presse Friday.
Holder said in the letter addressed to his Russian counterpart that "the charges he faces do not carry that possibility, and the United States would not seek the death penalty even if Mr. Snowden were charged with additional, death penalty-eligible crimes."
Snowden, whom Washington wants to put on trial for disclosing details of massive U.S. surveillance, has been marooned at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for more than a month.
He has asked Russia for asylum but his fate remains uncertain.
In the letter dated Tuesday, Holder stressed to Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov that Snowden would not be tortured.
"Torture is unlawful in the United States," he wrote.
"If he returns to the United States, Mr. Snowden would promptly be brought before a civilian court convened under Article III of the United States Constitution and supervised by a United States District Judge."
Holder said Washington believes "these assurances eliminate these asserted grounds for Mr. Snowden's claim that he should be treated as a refugee or granted asylum, temporary or otherwise."
Holder also said that, despite news reports and Snowden's belief to the contrary, the 30-year-old is able to travel and eligible for a "limited validity passport."
"Despite the revocation of his passport on June 22, 2013, Mr. Snowden remains a U.S. citizen," Holder wrote.
"He is eligible for a limited validity passport good for direct return to the United States. The United States is willing to immediately issue such a passport to Mr. Snowden."
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said earlier on Friday that the fate of Snowden "is not on President Vladimir Putin's agenda."
"Looking at the president's schedule you can conclude that he is not cancelling anything for the sake of Snowden," Peskov said, quoted by Russian news agencies.
"As far as I know, Snowden has not made any request that would require examination by the head of state. Correspondingly, the question has not stood and does not stand on the agenda," Peskov added.
He said that Putin was not involved in communications with the American side over the issue, which he stressed was being handled by the head of the FBI Robert Mueller and the head of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov.
There had been expectations that Snowden could emerge this week from the transit zone of the airport with a document allowing him freedom of movement in Russia while his application is considered. But he and the document never materialized.
The head of a civic panel that advises the Russian migration service warned Friday that Snowden could still stay half a year in Sheremetyevo while his asylum application is considered.
"He could stay in Sheremetyevo for as long as his legal position is not clarified," Vladimir Volokh told the Interfax news agency.
"The three months (asylum procedure) could be extended by another three months. So he could be in the transit zone for a maximum of six months."
Source: Agence France Presse
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