Sunday Times 2
US tells Russia will not seek death penalty for Snowden
View(s):WASHINGTON, District of Columbia, July 26 (AFP) -The United States has told Russia it will not seek the death penalty nor torture fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, in an attempt to convince Moscow to turn him over. The assurances came in a letter obtained by AFP Friday that Attorney General Eric Holder sent to Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov.
“We understand from press reports that Mr. Snowden has filed papers seeking temporary asylum in Russia on the grounds that if he were returned to the United States, he would be tortured and would face the death penalty,” Holder wrote.
“These claims are entirely without merit.”Snowden, whom Washington wants to put on trial for disclosing details of massive US surveillance, has been marooned at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for more than a month amid uncertainty about his future.
The case has further strained relations between Washington and Moscow, although a Kremlin spokesman indicated Friday that Snowden’s fate is not on President Vladimir Putin’s immediate agenda.
The White House has voiced strong opposition to Snowden’s request for safe haven in Russia and has criticized Moscow for providing him with a “propaganda platform.” In the letter dated Tuesday, Holder said the charges against the 30-year-old do not carry the possibility of the death penalty and that “the United States would not seek the death penalty even if Mr. Snowden were charged with additional, death penalty-eligible crimes.” Holder also stressed to Konovalov that the former National Security Agency contractor would not be tortured and would receive a fair trial back home.
“Torture is unlawful in the United States,” he wrote.
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