Edward Snowden remains a fugitive from U.S. authorities over leaking secret documents about its surveillance programs. Now he's asking Russia to extend the one-year term of asylum the country granted the former NSA contract worker last summer.

Snowden's asylum, which was granted last August, is set to expire at the end of this month. His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, says they've filed papers for an extension.

"We have gone through the course of receiving temporary asylum. On July 31, this term ends. We have submitted documents on the extension of his stay in Russia," Kucherena said, according to state-run news agency Ria Novosti. We won't say yet in what status we would like to receive the extension because that decision is up to the Federal [Migration] Service."

Last December, Snowden said he wanted to gain "permanent political asylum" to give him the freedom he needs to discuss U.S. surveillance activities more openly. And in March, he said his attempts to gain asylum in European Union member nations had been frustrated by the U.S.

When Russia granted Snowden asylum after he spent weeks in a legal limbo at Moscow's international airport, the White House said it was "extremely disappointed" in the decision, saying that Snowden "is not a whistleblower."

Documents provided to the media by Snowden exposed a broad U.S. surveillance program. And the records were cited today by reporter Glenn Greenwald, in a story that asserts the National Security Agency and FBI "monitored the emails of prominent Muslim-Americansincluding a political candidate and several civil rights activists, academics, and lawyers."

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As Deadline Nears, Snowden Seeks To Extend His Stay In Russia

NSA leaker Edward Snowden's asylum in Russia runs out on July 31, leaving him without a home if it is not extended.

Edward Snowden Laura Poitras/The Guardian/Screenshot by CNET

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who took nearly 2 million intelligence files from the US to reveal espionage tactics used by the government, has asked Russia for an extension on his asylum.

Speaking to the Russian Times on Wednesday, Snowden attorney Anatoly Kucherena said that he has filed, on Snowden's behalf, a request for an extension of his asylum in Russia. The attorney didn't say whether he asked for a simple one-year extension or something else, such as citizenship status.

After Snowden's leaks were revealed last year, he went on the run, attempting to make his way to Cuba and find safe ground from US law enforcement agencies seeking his extradition to the US and charges. Upon landing in a Russian airport last June, Snowden discovered that the US had voided his passport, leaving him in a holding area at the airport until he could find a new solution. On August 1, Russia finally allowed him into its country on a one-year asylum.

Snowden's asylum runs out on July 31. In the event the government does not extend the asylum, Snowden would be forced to leave Russia and find a new country to sidestep the US. Several countries in South America that have no extradition treaties with the US have offered Snowden asylum. With no passport, however, he can't make the trek to those countries.

Russia offering safe haven to Snowden has been met with concern in the US, where some believe that the country is housing a criminal. The Russian government, however, noted that Snowden has committed no crimes between its borders, leaving it with no reason but to offer him asylum. The government hasn't yet commented on whether his extension will be granted.

Snowden's revelations have proven damaging to the public perception of the US and its espionage techniques. According to documents revealed by Snowden, the government has done everything from collect nearly all data transmitted over networks to information on international government officials. The revelations have hurt US relations with certain countries, including Germany, and have caused the US to speak out publicly about its techniques and attempt to clarify claims.

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Snowden asks for extension on Russian asylum

US whistleblower Edward Snowden has officially asked to extend his stay in Russia after his visa expires, his lawyer has told the BBC.

Anatoly Kucherena confirmed that paperwork had been submitted to Russias Federal Migration Service.

The current document granting him temporary asylum expires on July 31.

Snowden fled the US in May 2013 and has been living under temporary asylum in Russia. Last year, he fed a trove of secret intelligence to news outlets.

We have gone through the procedure of getting temporary asylum. We have submitted documents for extending his stay in Russia, Kucherena told reporters on Wednesday.

The lawyer did not say for how long Snowden wanted to stay in Russia, or whether he wanted to become a Russian citizen.

Snowden became stranded in the international airport at Moscow last year while travelling from Hong Kong to Cuba. He was in effect trapped in the airports transit zone for several weeks before the Russian government allowed him refugee status for a year.

He went to Russia shortly after leaking details of the National Security Agencys international surveillance and telephone-tapping operation.

Russias decision to give asylum to Snowden a former NSA contractor was strongly criticised by the United States.

Correspondents say that while Snowden has in recent weeks increased his media visibility in Russia by giving several closely monitored interviews, he has conceded that he would like to go home, where he faces spying charges that could result in a substantial jail sentence.

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Snowden applies to extend his stay in Russia

William Binney, Thomas Drake, Edward Snowden - NSA: Demokratie?
William Binney, Thomas Drake, Edward Snowden - NSA: Nach auen Demokratie, nach innen berwachungsstaat.

By: De Principiis

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William Binney, Thomas Drake, Edward Snowden - NSA: Demokratie? - Video

If the whistleblower broke the Privacy Act, he deserves to be prosecuted. But he's not the only lawbreaker.

Reuters

Over at Lawfare, Ben Wittes argues that Edward Snowden violated the Privacy Act when he gave the Washington Postthe private communications of individuals spied on by the NSA. The law in question states:

Any officer or employee of an agency, who by virtue of his employment or official position, has possession of, or access to, agency records which contain individually identifiable information the disclosure of which is prohibited by this section or by rules or regulations established thereunder, and who knowing that disclosure of the specific material is so prohibited, willfully discloses the material in any manner to any person or agency not entitled to receive it, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than $5,000.

Snowden's leak does seem to violate this law. Under the circumstances, a misdemeanor conviction and a $5,000 fine seems like a reasonable penaltyand since he's a student of civil disobedience who believes in the importance of privacy, I suspect Snowden would plead guilty to the misdemeanor to underscore the law's importance, assusiming he were also given the Espionage Act clemency he deserves for exposing surveillance that massively violates human rights, the Fourth Amendment, and the separation of powers. That revelation fulfilled his obligation to protect the Constitution from enemies both foreign and domestic.

What do you say, Mr. Snowden? Would you take that deal, despite the recent custom of granting retroactive immunity to those who violate the privacy of Americans?

Of course, I would understand if, Snowden offered to pay the $5,000 fine only if charges were also brought and, if convictions were secured, punishments meted out to James Clapper for perjury, various CIA officials for torture, and Leon Panetta for revealing classified information about the military unit that killed Osama bin Laden. After all, I'm sure that Snowden, like Wittes, wouldn't want to send the message that breaking the law in service of those in power goes unpunished in America, while "the rule of law" is only invoked to punish those who criticize the powerful.

Happily, the latest Snowden leak has finally convinced Wittes, who is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, that the NSA's collection of the private communications of innocent people constitutes a massive violation of civil libertiesthis after insisting for so many months that the NSA and its contractors had perpetrated no serious abuses.

The Latest Snowden Leak Is Devastating to NSA Defenders

Wittes and I happen to disagree about which acts by current or former NSA employees and contractors are most egregious.But now that we both agree serious abuses have occurred perhaps we can work on reforms.

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Edward Snowden or the NSA: Who Violated Your Privacy More?