Edward Snowden “to stay in Moscow Airport”

Russia is currently reviewing the asylum status of NSA whistle-blower and international fugitive Edward Snowden, with his lawyer today saying that he will continue to stay in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport.

Russia’s Federal Migration Service was reported to have issued Snowden the relevant documentation earlier today, but it appears that these rumours were unfounded, and SNowden will remain in his current location for a while longer according to his lawyer.

The documentation would mean that Snowden could travel to one of the countries that have offered him asylum including Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. Snowden has not been able to leave the transit area of the airport until now, because after the US cancelled his passport, he did not have the right documentation to fly or enter another country.

Snowden has remained in the transit area of the airport since travelling there from Hong Kong on 23rd June, shortly after the Guardian published its report on the wide-ranging NSA spying programme around the world and within the US.