Snowden’s father to visit him in Russia

Washington, Aug 12 (IANS) US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden's father has secured documents to visit his son in Russia, Lon Snowden and his lawyer Bruce Fein said.

They made the revelation during an interview on ABC Network's "This Week" show Saturday. They declined to reveal the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor's whereabouts in Russia, as well as the schedule of their visit. But Fein said the trip would happen "very soon", Xinhua reported.

Anatoly Kucherena, Edward Snowden's lawyer in Russia, said last week that he had sent Lon Snowden the required invitation to visit Russia, a step toward securing a visa. He said he hoped a visit would happen in the coming days.

Snowden was stranded at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for six weeks after Washington revoked his passport. He faces espionage charges in the US after disclosing a classified intelligence surveillance project code-named PRISM.

On Aug 1, Russia granted him a year-long asylum, allowing him to quietly slip out of the airport.