Snowden submits asylum request

[July 16, 2013]  MOSCOW (AP) -- A Russian lawyer says that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden has asked for temporary asylum in Russia.

Anatoly Kucherena said that Snowden submitted the asylum request Tuesday to Russia's Federal Migration Service. The service had no immediate comment.

He said Snowden made the move following their meeting at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

Snowden has been stuck in Sheremetyevo's transit zone since he arrived from Hong Kong on June 23. He said Friday at a meeting with Russian rights activists and public figures that he would seek at least temporary refuge in Russia until he could fly to one of the Latin American nations that have offered him asylum.

[Associated Press]

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