Russian laws do not limit the time for which former CIA employee Edward Snowden may stay at the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, and he bears no liability for the absence of documents, the Russian Justice Ministry said.
Snowden’s saga: Whistleblower, hero, traitor or spy?
Full story: Edward Snowden
"Russian law does not stipulate the duration of time for which a foreign citizen may stay in the airport's transit zone or liability for staying for a long time in an airport's transit zone without documents," the ministry said in a statement forwarded to Interfax on Saturday in reply to a question as to how long Snowden may stay at the airport.




http://www.kyivpost.com/content/russia-and-former-soviet-union/snowden-facing-20-years-in-prison-in-us-duma-deputy-327600.html

Pushkov: Snowden facing 20 years in prison in US

July 27, 2013, 4:33 p.m. | Russia and former Soviet Union — by Interfax-Ukraine
Edward Snowden.
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Former CIA employee Edward Snowden is facing 20 years imprisonment in his country, Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian State Duma international affairs committee, said with reference to U.S. experts. 
"The U.S. has said it will not execute Snowden. American experts told me he is facing 20 years in prison. But his father doesn't believe in fair trial," Pushkov said on Twitter.
Edward Snowden's father, Lon Snowden, said earlier that, if he were his son, he would try to find a safe heaven, as he does not believe in fair trial in the U.S. 






















Germans protest against US surveillance

Thousands hold demonstrations in several cities against the alleged widespread surveillance of internet users by NSA.

Last Modified: 27 Jul 2013 16:08
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Protesters showed support for Snowden, who revealed NSA's secret surveillance programme [GALLO/GETTY]
Thousands of people have gathered in Germany to protest against the alleged widespread surveillance of internet users by US intelligence services.
Protesters, responding to calls by a loose network calling itself ‘stopwatchingus’, went on the streets on Saturday to demonstrate in Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and up to 35 other German cities and towns.
Some wore tinfoil hats to shield themselves from the sun and make a political statement about warding off unwanted eavesdroppers.

Snowden support
Others held placards showing support for National Security Agency (NSA) leaker Edward Snowden, who revealed documents detailing the agency's extensive secret surveillance programme known as Prism.
The Prism revelations caused an international uproar against what many view as an invasion of privacy.
The scandal has been especially contentious in Germany after media reports claimed the NSA had conducted wide scale gathering of electronic data, including e-mails, of German citizens.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel raised the issue of the NSA's alleged interception of Web traffic when US President Barack Obama visited Berlin last month.
But German opposition parties remain sceptical of the government's claim that it had known nothing about the surveillance.

Holder Promises: US Won’t Kill or Torture Snowden

Father Says Whistleblower Better Off in Russia

by Jason Ditz, July 26, 2013
The latest in a month-long battle to convince Russia to capture and extradite whistleblower Edward Snowden to the US, in absence of any extradition treaty, comes in the form of a letter by Attorney General Eric Holder, who “promises” in the letter that Snowden wouldn’t be tortured or executed by the Obama Administration.
Holder said that absent the threat of Snowden being tortured, there were no grounds to grant him asylum. Many would disagree, noting the politically motivated nature of the charges, and the torture of Pfc Bradley Manning ahead of a trial for similar “crimes.”
Snowden’s father Lon Snowden says that the administration has vilified his son to such a point that he is “better off” staying in Russia or some other safe haven “until an administration that respects the Constitution comes into office.”
German President Joachim Gauck, a well-known human rights activist who opposed the East German surveillance state he grew up in, noted that government misdeeds “will normally only be put right if information is made public,” and that Snowden deserves respect for having done so.
Gauck’s position could be hugely important with Germany heading into campaign season, as the NSA surveillance has been roundly criticized by Germans, with their government seen as insufficiently active in fighting against it.