Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia and left Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday.
The NSA whistleblower’s attorney Anatoly Kucherena told Russia 24 that documents had been issued allowing the 30-year-old to live and work in Russia for up to a year while his application for permanent asylum is pending.
“I have just seen him off. He has left for a secure location,” Kucherena said.
Russia Today tweeted grainy images of the documents issued to Snowden, which entitle him to stay in the country until July 31, 2014.
Snowden had applied for asylum in 21 countries since fleeing the United States for Hong Kong, after revealing details of an intelligence program to monitor internet activity.
He arrived in Moscow on 23 June.