NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden rules out returning to the US
Former NSA contractor says he will stay in Russia, claiming that he stands no chance of getting a fair trial under current whistle-blower laws
Former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden said he cannot come back to the United States from Russia because "there's no chance to have a fair trial" and urged the USto strengthen its protections for whistle-blowers.
During an online question-and-answer session on Thursday, Snowden also denied that he stole the passwords of National Security Agency co-workers, condemned threats to his life made by unnamed United States intelligence officials in the news media and decried "indiscriminate mass surveillance" by governments.
Snowden, living in temporary asylum in Russia after stealing and disclosing US government secrets on surveillance programmes and other activities, faces criminal charges in the US after fleeing last year first to Hong Kong and then Russia, where he was granted asylum for at least a year.
His comments, made on a "Free Snowden" website, came as US Attorney General Eric Holder said in Virginia that the US government would not consider clemency for him.
I never stole any passwords, nor did I trick an army of co-workers
"If Mr Snowden wanted to come back to the United States, enter a plea, we would engage with his lawyers. We'd do that with any defendant who wanted to enter a plea of guilty," Holder said.