Snowden applies for Russia asylum: Lawyer

MOSCOW, July 16, 2013 (AFP) - Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden applied Tuesday for temporary asylum in Russia, a pro-Kremlin lawyer said, after President Vladimir Putin accused Washington of “trapping” him in the country.

Snowden, wanted by the United States for revealing sensational details of its vast spying operations, is now spending a fourth week in the transit lounge at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport without ever crossing the Russian border.

“The application has been filed with the Russian authorities” through the Federal Migration Service (FMS), said prominent lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who has been in contact with Snowden.

“I have just left him,” he told AFP after meeting the fugitive in the transit zone.

In his application, Snowden had

He wrote that he fears for his life, safety, he fears that torture or death penalty could be applied against him

written that he was concerned about his safety should he return to the United States, the lawyer said.

“He wrote that he fears for his life, safety, he fears that torture or death penalty could be applied against him,” Kucherena said separately in televised remarks.

“And under these circumstances, understanding his position and situation, the Federal Migration Service should of course grant his request.”The head of the Federal Migration Service, Konstantin Romodanovsky, confirmed it had received the application. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred all questions to the FMS.