Thread: Edward Snowden breaks cover in Moscow to collect prize for 'Integrity in Intelligence

Daily Mail
By Becky Evans and Ap Reporter
10/10/2013
And the award for betraying his country goes to . . . Edward Snowden breaks cover in Moscow to collect prize for 'Integrity in Intelligence'

• Collected award in unknown location alongside WikiLeaks journalist
• Met four former U.S. officials who said he was in good spirits
  
• Lon Snowden told reporters it is his son's decision if he returns to America
  
• Publicly thanked Russia and President Putin for giving son asylum
  

Edward Snowden has been pictured in public today for the first time since leaving Moscow airport.

The National Security Agency whisteblower emerged to collect the Sam Adams Associates Integrity in Intelligence Award.

The picture was published on the same day his father Lon Snowden arrived in Russia to see his son.

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This is the first picture of former NSA analyst Edward Snowden (third from right) since he was given temporary asylum in August. He is pictured receiving the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence Award. (pictured l-r: Coleen Rowley, Thomas Drake , Sarah Harrison, Jesselyn Raddack and Ray McGovern)


Lon Snowden told reporters in Moscow he was 'not sure' if Edward Snowden would ever return to the U.S.

Snowden in secret meeting with Americans


VIDEO

Dressed in a black suit and open-necked blue shirt, Snowden was seen smiling alongside UK WikiLeaks journalist Sarah Harrison, who took the leaker from Hong Kong to Moscow and also obtained his asylum.

The precise location of the award ceremony is not known, although it is believed to have been in Moscow.

The award is given annually for people operating within the intelligence community who stand up to abuse of information gathering.

Previous winners include Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and former British Intelligence translator Katharine Gun who leaked information suggesting America acted illegally in pushing for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Four former U.S. government officials who met Snowden said today he is adjusting to life in Russia and shows no sign of regrets about leaking highly classified information.

The Americans, who once worked for the CIA, FBI, Justice Department and NSA, have criticized the U.S. government and in some cases exposed what they believed was wrongdoing in the its security agencies.

They are the first Americans known to have met with Snowden, 30, since he was granted asylum in Russia in August.

Thomas Drake, a former NSA executive who gave inside information to a newspaper about an electronic espionage program that he saw as invasive, said: 'He spoke about going out and about and getting to understand Russia and its culture and the people.
'This is where he lives now, and so where you live is your home.'

VIDEO

Snowden's dad says son may never go back to US

He does not know where he is meeting his son but will be brought to him by lawyer Anatoly Kucherena (left)

The four former U.S. officials refused to say where they met with Snowden or where he is living.

'For his own safety it's best that no one else knows where he actually lives,' Drake said.

'But I believe he is making the best of his circumstances and is living as normally as possible.'
Drake and the other Americans - Raymond McGovern, Jesselyn Radack and Coleen Rowley - said Snowden was in good spirits and still believes he did the right thing in disclosing the NSA surveillance program.

They said they saw no evidence that Snowden was under the control of Russian security services, as many in the U.S. government believe.

'He spoke very openly about a whole range of things, a number of which I won't get into here, but it certainly didn't involve any kind of manipulation by the Russian government or anyone else for that matter,' said Radack, a former Justice Department adviser now with the Government Accountability Project.

'He definitely is his own person and makes his own decisions and says and does what he wants to.'

Earlier today, Lon Snowden told Russian television crews outside the airport this morning that he doubts his son will return to the U.S.

He is currently living in a secret location after he was charged with violating the Espionage Act for disclosing NSA's highly classified surveillance of phone and Internet usage around the world.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was given temporary asylum by President Putin

'I'm not sure that my son will be returning to the U.S. again,' Lon Snowden said but added that 'that's his decision.'

He added: 'He's safe and he's free, and that's a good thing.'
Lon Snowden also said he has not had direct contact with his son and would not say when or where he will be meeting him.

He added: 'I am his father, I love my son and... I certainly hope I will have an opportunity to see my son.'

Edward Snowden was stuck at a Moscow airport for more than a month after his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23.
He was granted temporary asylum in Russia in August and his whereabouts remain secret although his lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, insists that Snowden lives in Russia.

Lon Snowden said that it is his understanding that his son has now stopped leaking information, which was a condition of his prolonged stay in Russia.

He thanked Russia and President Vladimir Putin for sheltering his son.
Edward Snowden's asylum status has strained the already tense relationship between the U.S. and Russia.
In September, President Barack Obama called off a meeting with President Putin at a Russia-hosted summit.

The decision to publish the leaked information in The Guardian newspaper has also provoked criticism from Prime Minister David Cameron and MI5 director-general Andrew Parker, who has warned the leaks are a ‘gift’ to terrorists.
Edward Snowden's father arrives in Russia






Lon Snowden (left) even appeared on the Rossiya 24 television channel alongside his son's Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena (centre) after arriving in Moscow

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