Translated material
Edward Snowden asked to go to Switzerland
Former US intelligence officer Edward Snowden said he would like to return to Switzerland, where he visited during his work for the CIA. According to Snowden, this country could be a “great political solution” for him, given its history of neutrality. Thus, he answered the question whether he was going to apply for political asylum in Switzerland.
Snowden noted that after the US canceled his passport, he applied for political asylum to 21 states, mainly in Central and Western Europe. According to him, not a single country agreed because of the "political interference" of the American administration.
Snowden was assigned to the US Legation in Geneva from March 2007 to February 2009 (English).
- Edward Snowden, a former employee of the CIA and the US National Security Agency, in June 2013 gave The Guardian and The Washington Post journalists classified materials regarding the surveillance program of American intelligence agencies around the world.
- The American authorities put Snowden on the wanted list on charges of espionage. He crossed through Hong Kong to Russia, where he spent about a month in the Sheremetyevo transit zone, after which he received temporary asylum in the Russian Federation.