U.S.: Snowden Wouldn't Face Death Penalty

WASHINGTON—U.S. authorities say National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wouldn’t face the death penalty—and also promise he wouldn’t be tortured—in a new letter hoping to persuade Russia not to grant him asylum or refugee status.

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Edward Snowden, shown speaking in June.

U.S. authorities said NSA leaker Edward Snowden wouldn't face the death penalty—and promised he wouldn't be tortured—in a letter hoping to persuade Russia not to grant him asylum or refugee status. Devlin Barrett reports. Photo: AP.

Attorney General Eric Holder, in a letter to Russian counterpart Alexander Vladimirovich Konovalov, said Mr. Snowden’s grounds for seeking asylum in Russia “are entirely without merit.”

The letter goes on to provide written assurances, in the hope that Russia will then deny Mr. Snowden’s appeal for temporary asylum.
“First, the United States would not seek the death penalty for Mr. Snowden should he return to the United States. The charges he faces do not carry that possibility, and the United States would not seek the death penalty even if Mr. Snowden were charged with additional, death penalty-eligible crimes,” Mr. Holder wrote.
Mr. Snowden, a former contractor for the NSA, disclosed secret details of sweeping government surveillance programs to news organizations and has been hiding from U.S. authorities, first in Hong Kong and now at a Moscow-area airport.
Mr. Holder’s letter, dated Tuesday, notes that press reports from Russia indicated Mr. Snowden sought asylum in part based on claims he could be tortured or killed by the U.S. government.

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The attorney general also disputed Mr. Snowden’s assertion that he can’t travel—but said he can only come back to the U.S. to face criminal charges.
“He is eligible for a limited validity passport good for direct return to the United States. The United States is willing to immediately issue such a passport to Mr. Snowden.”
Mr. Snowden has been charged in a criminal complaint with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national-defense information and willful communication of classified communications to an unauthorized person. None of those charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.
It is common for the U.S. to promise not to seek the death penalty against individuals being sought in other countries, because even America’s closest allies won’t turn over suspects if they believe that person might be executed.
U.S. officials said Russia had yet to formally respond to the letter from Mr. Holder, who laid out in detail that Mr. Snowden would face a standard American court if he returned to the U.S.
“Mr. Snowden would promptly be brought before a civilian court….Mr. Snowden would receive all the protections that United States law provides to persons charged with federal criminal offenses,” Mr. Holder wrote, noting he would have a right to an attorney, a public trial, and a right to testify if he so chose.
Write to Devlin Barrett at devlin.barrett@wsj.com

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