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Russia extends Edward Snowden's residency permit 'by a couple of years'

After fleeing his home in Hawaii, Snowden has been living in exile in Russia.

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Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has been given leave to remain in Russia for another couple of years, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry said. "Snowden's residency in Russia has just been extended by another couple of years," the spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said in a post on Facebook.

The United States has filed espionage charges against him for leaking details of extensive US surveillance programmes. He was granted asylum in Russia, which borders Norway, in 2013.

In September 2016, Snowden called on President Barack Obama to pardon him, saying it had been morally "necessary" to shine a light on mass surveillance. In 2015, the White House had rejected a petition signed by over 150,000 urging a pardon for Snowden, saying he should be "judged by a jury of his peers".

Last month, Snowden said he did not expect a pardon from Obama which would spare the fugitive whistleblower from a toughened approach when Donald Trump takes power. "I'm not counting on it," Snowden said in an interview published by Yahoo News.

The former National Security Agency contractor leaked thousands of classified documents to the press in 2013 which revealed the vast scope of US surveillance of private data that was put in place after the 9/11 attacks. After fleeing his home in Hawaii, he lives in exile in Russia where he sought asylum. Should he ever return to the United States, Snowden would be tried for espionage and other charges carrying up to 30 years in prison.

With Reuters inputs.

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