WASHINGTON — Edward Snowden will not face the death penalty or torture if he is returned to the United States to face espionage charges, U.S. Attorney General. Eric H. Holder Jr. has assured his Russian counterpart in an effort to dissuade Moscow from granting asylum to the American fugitive.
In a letter made public Friday, Holder told Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov that the former National Security Agency contractor’s professed fears of facing abuse and possible execution are “entirely without merit.”
“The charges he faces do not carry that possibility, and the United States would not seek the death penalty even if Mr. Snowden were charged with additional, death penalty-eligible crimes,” Holder wrote in the letter dated Tuesday. “Second, Mr. Snowden will not be tortured. Torture is unlawful in the United States.”
Holder also disputed Snowden’s claim that he is unable to travel out of Russia. U.S. authorities revoked his passport on June 22, but Snowden is eligible to get a “limited validity passport” that would allow him to return to the United States, the attorney general said.
Holder’s letter didn’t expressly request that Snowden be extradited, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that Russia would not be sending Snowden to the United States, the Interfax news agency reported.
If he were to return of his own volition, Snowden would be tried before a civilian, not a military, court and would be accorded the protections of U.S. law, Holder said. Those include the right of legal representation and trial by jury.