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            Russian Migration Official Says Snowden May be in Danger

   by Jessica Golloher

   A Russian Federal Migration Service official said he believes it's best
   that former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden
   remain in Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport because he is a wanted man and
   is safer there. The United States has promised Russia it will not seek
   the death penalty if Snowden is returned to America to face espionage
   charges.
   Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has been holed up in Sheremetyevo
   Airport for more than a month as he awaits temporary asylum in Russia.
   Snowden's lawyer says his application for asylum has been submitted to
   Russia's Federal Migration Service, or FMS, and it's now a wait and see
   situation.
   Vladimir Volokh, head of the FMS's public council, said if Snowden
   leaves Sheremetyevo, Russia can't guarantee his safety.
   "I don't think it is good for Snowden to travel freely in Russia, as he
   is wanted now," Volokh said, adding that he thinks the safest area for
   Snowden is to remain in the transit area at the airport or in areas
   under the jurisdiction of the FMS.
   Volokh's comments came as Washington promised Snowden wouldn't face the
   death penalty were he expelled to the U.S.  In a letter to Russia's
   justice minister, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder assured the Kremlin
   that the criminal charges Snowden faces back home don't carry the death
   penalty.
   Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far refused to extradite
   Snowden, saying he is a free man.
   Snowden's lawyer says that once the former NSA contractor has the
   documents to leave Sheremetyevo he'll be seeking to establish a life in
   Russia, at least for now.
   The dispute over Snowden is the latest between Moscow and Washington.
   The two sides continue to disagree over a myriad of issues including
   missile defense, Syria and adoptions.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/russian-migration-official-says-snowd
   en-may-be-in-danger/1712091.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/russian-migration-official-says-snowden-may-be-in-danger/1712091.html