American intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, a Russian official said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Anatoly Kucherena, a lawyer and a member of Russia's Public Chamber, a citizens advisory council, said he helped Snowden file the application and passed it to a representative of the Russian Immigration Office at the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport.
"I will help him with legal procedures," said Kucerena, adding that the immigration office was was expected to conclude Snowden's application in three months.
In a Twitter post on Tuesday, anti-secrecy group Wikileaks said Snowden had applied for "a temporary protection visa".
Snowden, a former defense contractor and leaker of classified surveillance programs of the US National Security Agency (NSA), was charged with espionage, theft and conversion of government property.
Snowden had flown from Hong Kong to Moscow on June 23, and asked Ecuador for asylum. Ecuador stated its decision on his asylum could take at least two months. Snowden has been stranded in the transit zone on the Moscow airport since then.
Snowden had requested asylum from 21 countries of which 13 are in Europe including Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela.
