Russia extends Edward Snowden’s residence permit

Russian authorities have extended a residence permit for US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked thousands of secret documents from the National Security Agency.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a post on Facebook late yesterday that Snowden’s residence permit has been extended for “a couple of years.”

Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013 when he got stuck in the transit area at a Moscow airport after the United States canceled his passport.

The announcement comes as US President Barack Obama has commuted the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, who was convicted for leaking more than 700,000 US documents.