The former NSA employee, who had previously made extensive revelations about the country's espionage programs, was granted permanent residence in Russia.

Iran PressEurope: The lawyer of Edward Snowden, the current whistleblower and former employee of the US National Security Agency today (Thursday) in an interview with RIA Novosti said that Snowden has received permanent residence in Russia.

"Snowden's stay was delayed due to the outbreak of the new Coronavirus," Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kochirna told the interview.

Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong in 2013 from his job at the US National Security Agency in Hawaii, provided journalists with thousands of classified espionage and security documents.

He went to Russia after his passport was revoked by the United States.

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