US reiterates call for Russia to hand over whistleblower

The US on Friday reiterated its call for Russia to hand over whistleblower Edward Snowden to face espionage charges back at home.

The US on Friday reiterated its call for Russia to hand over whistleblower Edward Snowden to face espionage charges back at home.

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Snowden was charged by Washington with espionage and theft of government property following his disclosure of massive secret phone and internet surveillance programmes of the US National Security Agency.

“Our position on Snowden and the felony charges against him and our belief that he ought to be returned to the United States to face those felony charges is as it was, and we have communicated it to a variety of countries, including Russia,” White House spokesman Jay Carney was quoted as saying at a press briefing.

“We continue to discuss with Russia our strongly held view that there is absolute legal justification for him to be expelled, for him to be returned to the US to face the charges that have been brought against him,” Carney added.