American whistleblower Edward Snowden, who has been recently granted asylum in Russia, is not in the capital Moscow, Russian migration authorities say.On August 6, Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, said the former contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA), had registered his place of residence with the authorities, but did not reveal the location out of concern for Snowdens safety.
However, on Friday a migration service official said that Snowden, 30, had not submitted documents to register in Moscow,The Guardianreported.
We don't have these records. I don't have any such information. He's not in Moscow, said Olga Kirillova, head of the Moscow branch of the federal migration service.
The service noted that only Snowden or his lawyer can disclose his place of residence since everyone's registration was confidential.
The NSA leakers father, Lon Snowden, has submitted all the required documents to get a visa for Russia and plans to travel to the country in August.
Snowden will make decisions about his future after his father and lawyers arrive in Russia, Kucherena told journalists earlier this week.
Snowden leaked two top secret US government spying programs, under which the NSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are eavesdropping on millions of American and European phone records and the Internet data from major Internet companies such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
On June 9, Snowden admitted his role in the leaks in a 12-minute video recorded interview published by the Guardian.
The 30-year-old NSA leaker is wanted in the United States, where he faces charges of espionage and theft of government property.
The United States has revoked Snowdens passport, following his arrival in Russia from Hong Kong on June 23. He remained in the transit zone of Moscows Sheremetyevo Airport for more than one month before being granted asylum on August 1.
By Press TV
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