Edward Snowden's Father Returns from Russia Says Former NSA Contractor is Happy Living in Asylum

Lon Snowden, the father of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, has returned from visiting his son in Russia, where he has been granted asylum, and said that his son is being treated well there, according to CNN.

"I felt that this is the best place for him, this is the place where he doesn't have to worry about people rushing across the border to render him," Lon Snowden told reporters at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. "It's not going to happen here."

When speaking to reporters after returning to the United States Lon Snowden said that he feels that the media has misrepresented his son and that if people knew the full story behind Edward Snowden they would have greater sympathy for him, according to Reuters.

"He's not a fugitive," Lon Snowden said. "He's a legal asylee of the Russian Federation and the press needs to get that right and I think our government understands that at this point."

It sounds as if this was the first of many trips for the elder Snowden as he is not optimistic that his son will be returning to the United States anytime soon, according to CNN.

"My feelings is that, unless the attitude within our government changes dramatically - and that at a minimum is going to require a change of administration and that's going to be in several years - that Russia is the place for him to be at the current time," Lon Snowden said. "He is comfortable, he is independent, he is happy - which is important to me - and he is absolutely committed to the decision that he made."

Snowden was given a one-year temporary asylum by Russia but it is possible it could be extended beyond that time. Snowden's whereabouts within Russia have been kept secret from the public and media to protect him, according to Reuters.

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