Snowden’s father files application for Russian visa

Lon Snowden, the father of former CIA technical analyst turned political refugee in Russia Edward Snowden, has filed documents for a Russian travel visa, Mattie Fein, a representative of Snowden Sr.’s lawyer told Itar-Tass Thursday. She added that the person taking care of the issue in Moscow is lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who chairs a commission at Russia’s Public Chamber, a high-rank consultative agency. Fein confirmed that Lon Snowden plans to make a trip to Russia in August but she admitted that she had no information on how much time the processing of the documents would take. She answered positively a question of whether or not American lawyers plan to accompany Snowden Sr. on this voyage. Lon Snowden said earlier he was eyeing a trip to Russia for a meeting with his son. When the situation and timing is good, he will definitely make this trip because he loves his son and he hopes that he will certainly travel to Moscow on the absolutely legitimate grounds. Edward Snowden, 30, was accused in the U.S. of leaking information on the National Security Agency’s programs of electronic eavesdropping. He received temporary asylum in Russia after spending more than a month in the transit zone of Sheremetyevo airport. U.S. authorities claim that Snowden encroached on two clauses of the 1917 law on espionage by making public without authorization some secret data pertaining to national defense and by purportedly transferring U.S. intelligence data the individuals who had no powers for possession of such data. In addition, Snowden Jr. is charged with stealing the property of U.S. government. He is facing a grim prospect of ten years in jail on each of the three charges if he turns up on American soil one day.