Edward Snowden appears at Moscow airport and renews asylum claim – as it happened

New guidelines issued by attorney general Eric Holder would limit the ability of law enforcement officers to seize media communications and would require officials to notify the targeted journalists in "all but the most exceptional cases."

Under the new rules, released Friday afternoon, media organizations would be notified of records seizures except in cases where the attorney general personally signs a waiver based on a belief that "advance notice and negotiations would pose a clear and substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation, risk grave harm to national security, or present an imminent risk of death or serious bodily harm."

"It is expected that only the rare case would present the Attorney General with the requisite compelling reasons to justify a delayed notification," the new guidelines say.

The Obama administration decided to draft the new guidelines after broad seizures of media documents and the naming of a journalist as a "probable co-conspirator" in an official leak sparked outrage and accusations that the White House was violating constitutional protections.

The guidelines limit officials' ability to seize journalists' records to cases where the journalists are "the focus of a criminal investigation for conduct not connected to ordinary newsgathering activities."

The justice department also plans to set up a "News Media Review Committee" to advise the attorney general when justice department lawyers seek media-related records in investigations into leaks.

The report repeats Obama administration promises that journalists will not be prosecuted for practicing journalism:

 As an initial matter, it bears emphasis that it has been and remains the Department's policy that members of the news media will not be subject to prosecution based solely on newsgathering activities.

The new justice department guidelines claiming to offer better protections for journalists have just been released online. 

(h/t: @charlie_savage)

Here's video of the airport and MP Vyacheslav Nikonov's interview afterward. "Definitely my electorate would not regard Mr. Snowden as a criminal," Nikonov says.

The US State Department has echoed the White House charge that Russia is providing a "propaganda platform" for Snowden, the Guardian's Matt Williams reports:

In an often testy exchange with journalists, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki repeatedly said that the US "broadly" supported the right to free speech, but confirmed that they had conveyed their concern to Moscow over the former NSA contractor's meeting with human rights groups at Sheremetyevo airport.

Russia's dealing of Snowden risked damaging the relationship with the US but "we are not at this point yet," Psaki said.

The daily State Department briefing came hours after the airport meeting, and followed claims that US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul contacted Human Rights Watch - which participated in the event - to ask that they convey to Snowden that he was not a whistleblower in the eyes of the US.

Psaki denied that McFaul made the phone call, but acknowledged that a US official had contacted the advocacy group. "But at no point did this official - or any official - ask to relay a message to Mr Snowden," she said.

Nonetheless official irritation over the incident was clear during the briefing. "[Snowden] is not a whistleblower, he is not a human rights activist. He is wanted on a series of serious criminal charges," said Psaki.

As such, the US was "disappointed that Russian officials and agencies facilitated this meeting," Psaki said, adding later: "Russian authorities clearly helped assist attendees participating in this, that is a concern to us."

She continued: "Our concern here is (Snowden) has been provided this opportunity to speak in a propaganda platform, that Russia has played a role in facilitating this, that others have helped elevate this."

But she added that Russia "still has the opportunity to do the right thing and help return Mr Snowden to the US."

Alec Luhn reports for the Guardian from Moscow on Snowden's airport appearance. "Friday's proceedings left little doubt that the Russian authorities were actively involved in Snowden's stay," Alec writes:

[Russian MP Vyacheslav] Nikonov said he had asked Snowden how he was enjoying his time in Russia. “He laughed – and said, it’s safe here,” Nikonov said.

Nikonov and other attendees, including Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch and Sergei Nikitin of Amnesty International, were swarmed by journalists as they arrived at Sheremetyevo late on Friday afternoon. 

Camera- and mic boom-wielding correspondents mobbed each of the invitees in turn as they made their way toward an airport employee holding a sign reading “G9”, previously identified in Snowden’s invitation email as the marker that would lead them to Snowden.

The horde followed the airport employee upstairs, with journalists running up downward escalators to get ahead, and the invitees were ushered through a service door guarded by policemen and into a hallway with a metal detector. Lokshina later said that they did not undergo any security checks and were only asked to not record video of the event.

The atmosphere was tense as journalists crowded to get footage and quotes after the activists emerged from the 45 minute long meeting. At least one fistfight erupted between two cameramen who punched each other in the ribs.

Friday’s proceedings left little doubt that the Russian authorities were actively involved in Snowden’s stay at Sheremetyevo. Airport employees organised and conducted the event, and order was kept by a small cadre of policemen. Attendees said the meeting was watched over by men in suits, whom Nikitin of Amnesty International said looked like government operatives. 

“I’m no expert, but if a man in a tie is standing there with a military bearing and a serviceman’s expression, who is he, a school teacher?” Nikitin said.

Nikonov, the Kremlin-friendly MP, agreed: “I think that he has guards, given the circumstances.”

Russia has denied any involvement in Snowden’s flight and continues to insist that he is not on Russian territory since he has not crossed the border at Sheremetyevo. Snowden stressed in his statement on Friday that he “did not partner with any foreign government to guarantee by safety”.

“Instead, I took what I knew to the public, so what affects all of us can be discussed by all of us in the light of day, and I asked the world for justice,” he said. 

Attendees said that Snowden looked mentally and physically healthy, despite weeks in the halls of Sheremetyevo. “He smiled, he looked confident, he looked like he believes he’s in the right,” Nikonov said. “I can’t say he impressed me as a well-fed young man, but he’s never been very bulky. And he has a great haircut. He didn’t joke, because he understands the seriousness of the situation.”

Nikitin added: “He didn’t look scared, he looked cheerful...He smiled at my jokes, and although his face looked a little pale, you can understand why if a person is located the whole time within four walls.”

Some attendees said Snowden appeared desperate to get out of the airport. “I got the feeling that after all this, he just wants to physically get out of these premises, and this is the only way to get out of them,” Nikitin said.

– Alec Luhn

Carney is asked about the involvement of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in defending Snowden.

Carney praises the work of those organizations. However "Mr Snowden is not a human rights activist or a dissident," Carney says, but a leaker of highly classified state secrets who faces three felony charges.

Carney is asked about Obama administration officials misleading Congress as to the nature of surveillance programs.

Carney answers snippily: "Director Clapper has addressed this specific instance" in which he denied to the Senate that the government collects data on millions of Americans, he says.

Then Carney launches into a defense of the strength of Congressional oversight:

Congress has been briefed in numerous venues. ... I have seen reports of 22 briefings on the 702 program, and nearly as many on the 215 programs.

The fact is they've known about these programs, they've approved these programs and they've provided oversight about these programs.

Guardian Washington correspondent Paul Lewis is at the Carney presser:

Top US and Chinese officials just completed two days of meetings for the fifth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington. Obama himself lodged his complaints with with Chinese officials Thursday, Carney says.

Asked what the Chinese response had been to the US 'disappointment," Carney referred reporters to Chinese officials. 

In his daily briefing, White House press secretary Jay Carney has addressed Snowden's appearance at Sheremetyevo airport this morning.

Carney says Snowden has been charged with three felonies and should be returned to the United States. "We have a history of effective law enforcement cooperation with Russia," he says.

"We've had conversations with Russian officials at a variety of high levels," Carney says. "The president does have a call scheduled with President Putin for later today." The call has been in the president's diary "for days," Carney says.

State Itar-Tass news quotes Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin as saying that Russia "should provide" Snowden with temporary asylum. Here's a section of an Itar-Tass liveblog translated by Google (via @RyanLizza):

[State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin] noted that in the U.S., which require its issuance, is still used this form of punishment, the death penalty. "I believe that the very great risk that the penalty is waiting for Edward Snowden. We have no right to let this happen," - he stressed. "Russia should provide Snowden political or temporary shelter", - concluded the speaker.

The short Life News video from the Snowden meeting has been posted to YouTube. The video captures a light moment in which Snowden resumes reading from his statement, only to be interrupted by an airport announcement. He stops and smiles.

"I've heard this many times in the last week," he says.

Snowden said he "can easily accept" a condition that he stop leaking in order to gain temporary asylum in Russia, according to a Russian MP who attended the airport meeting, in comments reported by the Associated Press. A note of caution: No transcript has yet emerged of Snowden's full statement remarks and the parliamentarian's account could not be independently verified:

Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, told Russian news agencies after the announcement Friday that Russia has not yet received a new bid for asylum from Snowden and that Putin would continue with his insistence that Snowden stop leaking information.

Both Nikonov and Genri Reznik, a lawyer who participated in the meeting, said Snowden was willing to stop leaks.

"He said he was informed of this condition and that he can easily accept it. He does not intend to damage the United States' interests given that he is a patriot of his country," Nikonov said.

Snowden did say, according to Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, that he has no intention of harming US interests but it was unclear whether by his thinking that rules out further leaks. Read the full piece here.

Update: As previously reported, Wikileaks has a transcript of Snowden's statement, but it doesn't include his unscripted remarks in which he apparently made the comment about having no intention of harming US interests.

Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia, has contacted the New Yorker to deny previous reports that he had sought to convey a message to Snowden that Snowden is not a 'whistleblower.' 

McFaul's account directly contradicts a description of the Snowden meeting published by Wikileaks:

 The Human Rights Watch representative used this opportunity to tell Mr Snowden that on her way to the airport she had received a call from the US Ambassador to Russia, who asked her to relay to Mr Snowden that the US Government does not categorise Mr Snowden as a whistleblower and that he has broken United States law. This further proves the United States Government’s persecution of Mr Snowden and therefore that his right to seek and accept asylum should be upheld.

Guardian diplomatic editor Julian Borger describes Snowden's asylum Catch-22:

Widney Brown, Amnesty International's senior director for international law and policy, said that the Latin American states involved could theoretically have sent envoys to Sheremetyevo to furnish Snowden with travel documents.

"However, that would be a highly unusual procedure for use in extremis," Brown said. "It may be that these states would prefer to go through the normal procedures for adjudicating asylum claims."

Snowden's strategy – to appeal for temporary asylum in Russia to allow him to file for asylum elsewhere – is a response to these conditions. He is responding to Putin's conditionality by insisting he has no intention of harming the true interests of his home country, but it is not clear whether he would agree to a temporary gag while in Moscow. Judged on his record so far, it would seem out of character, but he may have little choice.

Read the full piece here. 

Sergei Nikitin, the head of Amnesty International's Moscow office who was at today’s meeting, has put out a statement backing Snowden and promising to “continue to pressure governments to ensure his rights are respected - this includes the unassailable right to claim asylum wherever he may choose”. Nitikin said:

Amnesty International was pleased to reiterate our support for Edward Snowden in person.

We will continue to pressure governments to ensure his rights are respected - this includes the unassailable right to claim asylum wherever he may choose.

What he has disclosed is patently in the public interest and as a whistleblower his actions were justified.

He has exposed unlawful sweeping surveillance programmes that unquestionably interfere with an individual’s right to privacy.

States that attempt to stop a person from revealing such unlawful behaviour are flouting international law.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right.

Instead of addressing or even owning up to these blatant breaches, the US government is more intent on persecuting him.

Attempts to pressure governments to block his efforts to seek asylum are deplorable.

Tany Lokshina has confirmed that the US embassy called her before the meeting to ask her to pass on to Snowden the message that he was not a whistleblower.

A short video has emerged showing Snowden at the meeting.

Update: McFaul has denied he sought to convey a message to Snowden that Snowden is not a "whistleblower." Original post follows:

Ryan Lizza of the New Yorker is reporting that Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia, called a member of the human rights delegation today and asked her to pass on to the message to Snowden that he is not a whistleblower.

I’ve asked McFaul and Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, the only woman among the human rights representatives at the meeting, if this is true.

WikiLeaks has posted a long statement by Edward Snowden, dated today at 5pm Moscow time. Here it is in full:

Hello. My name is Ed Snowden. A little over one month ago, I had family, a home in paradise, and I lived in great comfort. I also had the capability without any warrant to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone’s communications at any time. That is the power to change people’s fates.

It is also a serious violation of the law. The 4th and 5th Amendments to the Constitution of my country, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous statutes and treaties forbid such systems of massive, pervasive surveillance. While the US Constitution marks these programs as illegal, my government argues that secret court rulings, which the world is not permitted to see, somehow legitimize an illegal affair. These rulings simply corrupt the most basic notion of justice – that it must be seen to be done. The immoral cannot be made moral through the use of secret law.

I believe in the principle declared at Nuremberg in 1945: "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."

Accordingly, I did what I believed right and began a campaign to correct this wrongdoing. I did not seek to enrich myself. I did not seek to sell US secrets. I did not partner with any foreign government to guarantee my safety. Instead, I took what I knew to the public, so what affects all of us can be discussed by all of us in the light of day, and I asked the world for justice.

That moral decision to tell the public about spying that affects all of us has been costly, but it was the right thing to do and I have no regrets.

Since that time, the government and intelligence services of the United States of America have attempted to make an example of me, a warning to all others who might speak out as I have. I have been made stateless and hounded for my act of political expression. The United States Government has placed me on no-fly lists. It demanded Hong Kong return me outside of the framework of its laws, in direct violation of the principle of non-refoulement – the Law of Nations. It has threatened with sanctions countries who would stand up for my human rights and the UN asylum system. It has even taken the unprecedented step of ordering military allies to ground a Latin American president’s plane in search for a political refugee. These dangerous escalations represent a threat not just to the dignity of Latin America, but to the basic rights shared by every person, every nation, to live free from persecution, and to seek and enjoy asylum.

Yet even in the face of this historically disproportionate aggression, countries around the world have offered support and asylum. These nations, including Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador have my gratitude and respect for being the first to stand against human rights violations carried out by the powerful rather than the powerless. By refusing to compromise their principles in the face of intimidation, they have earned the respect of the world. It is my intention to travel to each of these countries to extend my personal thanks to their people and leaders.

I announce today my formal acceptance of all offers of support or asylum I have been extended and all others that may be offered in the future. With, for example, the grant of asylum provided by Venezuela’s President Maduro, my asylee status is now formal, and no state has a basis by which to limit or interfere with my right to enjoy that asylum. As we have seen, however, some governments in Western European and North American states have demonstrated a willingness to act outside the law, and this behavior persists today. This unlawful threat makes it impossible for me to travel to Latin America and enjoy the asylum granted there in accordance with our shared rights.

This willingness by powerful states to act extra-legally represents a threat to all of us, and must not be allowed to succeed. Accordingly, I ask for your assistance in requesting guarantees of safe passage from the relevant nations in securing my travel to Latin America, as well as requesting asylum in Russia until such time as these states accede to law and my legal travel is permitted. I will be submitting my request to Russia today, and hope it will be accepted favorably.

If you have any questions, I will answer what I can.

Thank you.

Here is another photo of Snowden taken by Tanya Lokshina.

The Wall Street Journal was speaking to Tanya Lokshina at the airport earlier.

The WSJ's reporter asked her what Snowden’s chances of gaining asylum were. She said:

Human Rights Watch made a statement several days ago saying that he does have a prima facie case and that indeed his concerns about possible ill-treatment if in custody in the United States are legitimate. Therefore any country, including Russia now that he’s making a formal claim, should consider that claim justified.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said he is unaware of a formal asylum request from Snowden, according to Reuters. As mentioned earlier, he reiterated Putin's demand that Snowden stop harming the US before he is granted asylum.

Reuters is reporting that Vladimir Putin's spokesman has reiterated that Snowden must refrain from harming the US if he wants asylum in Russia.

AP reports the following people were at the meeting: Vyacheslav Nikonov, the Russian MP, Sergei Nikitin, head of Amnesty International Russia, Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, Vladimir Lukin, Russia's presidential human rights ombudsman, and attorney Genri Reznik.

Vyacheslav Nikonov, the Russian MP who was at the Snowden meeting, has confirmed that the whistleblower plans to seek asylum in Russia, the Associated Press reports.

Lokshina is being absolutely besieged by the press.

WikiLeaks have just tweeted that they will be releasing Snowden's statement to human rights groups this evening.

He said he felt his living conditions were fine at the airport, she says.

He feels safe in the airport but he knows he cannot stay here for ever, she says.

Lokshina is saying Snowden is intending to apply for asylum in Russia and then in Latin America.

Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch is being interviewed on Russia TV.

She said Snowden had said he wanted the US to succeed.

Would he stop his activities? There was nothing to stop, because he felt he was not harming the US, she said.

Snowden recalled handing in his asylum request to Russia, and Putin's response, according to Ellen Barry of the New York Times.

It seems as though the meeting is over. There is now a massive media scrum at the airport again.

According to Ellen Barry and Tanya Lokshina, Snowden is saying he cannot appeal to international organisations because they require that you come to them.

He says he is recognised as an asylum seeker by the UN High Commission on Refugees – but the US, he says, does not recognise this, as the Morales plane affair showed.

Ellen Barry of the New York Times is in contact with Human Rights Watch's Tanya Lokshina, who is in the Snowden meeting.

She says that Snowden is saying he wants to remain in Russia and travel, and he wants international organisations to petition the US and EU not to interfere with that.

Referring to Putin's condition that he can only stay if he stops harming the US, Snowden apparently has said: "No actions I take or plan are meant to harm the US ... I want the US to succeed."

As mentioned earlier, the Kremlin said previously that Snowden had withdrawn a previous request for asylum in Russia after Vladimir Putin said he would be welcome only if he stopped "his work aimed at bringing harm" to the United States.

If Barry and Lokshina are right, Snowden has now reconsidered this. He seems to be saying that the only way he can guarantee his safety where he is now, before he heads to Latin America, is to gain temporary asylum in Russia.

Ellen Barry is continuing to pass on Tanya Lokshina's reports from inside Snowden's meeting with human rights campaigners:

Ellen Barry of the New York Times reports that Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, who is in the meeting, says Snowden has said he has received offers from Venezuela, Russia, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador. He thanks them. He says he accepts all offers, present and future. The offer from Venezuela has been made formally. He wants help in guaranteeing his safe passage to Latin America, she says. He will submit an asylum claim to Russia today, but he plans to go to Latin America eventually, she says.

Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch sent that picture of Snowden, with Sarah Harrison of WikiLeaks on his right.

Snowden looks much the same as he did in his Guardian interviews from Hong Kong, dressed in a similar open-neck shirt, with stubble and glasses, although his hair is a little longer.

And here's Snowden...

This is the first time a screen grab I’ve taken has ever been turned into a work of art.

Ellen Barry of the New York Times reports that Snowden’s meeting with “around eight” human rights figures has begun. The meeting is not allowed to be filmed.

Here's a better look at the man holding Snowden's promised "G9" sign earlier.

Some journalists have noted some unexpected turns of phrase and spellings in Snowden’s email:

Deutsche Presse-Agentur's Nikolaus von Twickel quotes Russian news agency Interfax as saying that Snowden has left his room in the airport's capsule hotel and is now waiting in the transit zone for his meeting.

Here's the scene at the airport a few minutes ago:

A man in a suit is holding up the "G9" sign as promised by Snowden. The reporters are following him.

Russian MP Vyacheslav Nikonov was just interviewed at the airport. He said he had been invited to the meeting with Snowden. “I don't think I was in a position to reject. I don't suppose you would reject a meeting with Mr Snowden.” What did he think Snowden would say? He would not predict. “I prefer to listen and make suggestions,” he said.

Chaos at the airport now. The sign Snowden promised saying "G8" or "G9" seems to have appeared. A scrum of journalists was briefly shown packed on an escalator, and now the Russia Today film crew are running to catch the pack of journalists.

Russia Today is broadcasting live from the airport.

A number of journalists are milling around, setting up equipment and filming each other, while travellers rush around and give the reporters confused looks.

Human rights lawyer Renata Avila says the UN High Commissioner for Refugees should be visiting Snowden along with Human Rights Watch today, since the UNHCR has "the mandate to facilitate his travels".

She adds that Venezuela has a "sour relationship" with HRW and she hopes that the meeting will not jeopardise Snowden's chances of gaining asylum there.

Avila says that the most important aspect of the Snowden case is the fact that "asylum is a human right. There is a set of BINDING rules for all states to accept, without exception."

WikiLeaks – which has helped Snowden since he left Hong Kong last month – has tweeted a picture of Julian Assange and free-software campaigner Richard Stallman holding up a picture of Snowden coloured to look like the famous Shepard Fairey campaign image of Barack Obama. "Yes we can" the picture is captioned.

Radio commentaor Nik Batalov sends this picture of the pack of waiting journalists at Sheremetyevo airport. “Here it’s hell,” he tweets.

Snowden is arguing that the US is conducting an “unlawful campaign … to deny my right to seek and enjoy ... asylum under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” by “threatening” countries around the world, particularly in Latin America.

The New York Times reports today that the US is putting pressure on countries across Latin America to try to ensure they do not take Snowden in.

“There is not a country in the hemisphere whose government does not understand our position at this point,” a senior State Department official focusing on the matter said recently, adding that helping Mr. Snowden “would put relations in a very bad place for a long time to come.”

“If someone thinks things would go away, it won’t be the case,” the official said.

But the NYT says Washington is finding that “its leverage in Latin America is limited just when it needs it most, a reflection of how a region that was once a broad zone of American power has become increasingly confident in its ability to act independently”.

Edward Snowden is to meet representatives from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Transparency International at the airport in Moscow where he is holed up to discuss his next steps forward.

In an email published by Human Rights Watch, the former intelligence agency contractor – whose revelations to the Guardian about US surveillance have caused controversy around the world – also suggests he will make a “brief statement” to the groups. Reuters said Snowden had emailed them separately to say that the meeting would be closed to the press but that the whistleblower would speak to the media later.

The meeting is due to take place at 5pm Moscow time (2pm in London/9am in New York) in Sheremetyevo airport and we’ll be publishing as many details as we can live here.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty said they had received an email from Snowden setting out how he felt the US government was conducting an “unlawful campaign … to deny my right to seek and enjoy ... asylum under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.

Tonya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch posted the email in full on Facebook. In the email he also thanks all the countries that have offered him support and asylum and offers to visit each one. Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua have offered him asylum. Venezuela’s foreign minister said yesterday the country had not yet received a reply to its offer. It is still unclear whether he would be able to leave the airport to take up any of these offers. The Kremlin said the whistleblower withdrew a request for asylum in Russia after Vladimir Putin said he would be welcome only if he stopped "his work aimed at bringing harm" to the United States – ”as strange as that sounds coming from my mouth."

Here is the email in full:

I have been extremely fortunate to enjoy and accept many offers of support and asylum from brave countries around the world. These nations have my gratitude, and I hope to travel to each of them to extend my personal thanks to their people and leaders. By refusing to compromise their principles in the face of intimidation, they have earned the respect of the world.

Unfortunately, in recent weeks we have witnessed an unlawful campaign by officials in the U.S. Government to deny my right to seek and enjoy this asylum under Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The scale of threatening behavior is without precedent: never before in history have states conspired to force to the ground a sovereign President's plane to effect a search for a political refugee [a reference to the plane of Bolivia’s Evo Morales]. This dangerous escalation represents a threat not just to the dignity of Latin America or my own personal security, but to the basic right shared by every living person to live free from persecution.

I invite the Human Rights organizations and other respected individuals addressed to join me on 12 July at 5:00PM at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow for a brief statement and discussion regarding the next steps forward in my situation. Your cooperation and support will be greatly appreciated in this matter.

Sincerely,

Edward Joseph Snowden

MEETING DETAILS: Please meet at 4.30pm at Sheremetyevo airport in Terminal F, in the centre of the arrival hall. Someone from airport staff will be waiting there to receive you with a sign labelled "G9". Please bring a copy of this invite and ID to show that you work for your organization as security will likely be tight at this meeting. A maximum of three people are able to attend from each organization. For any questions please contact the airport administration on +8 916-816-4335.

Lokshino said she would be attending the meeting. “I’m not sure this is for real, but compelled to give it a try,” she wrote on Facebook. “Wouldn’t want to create an impression that HRW is not interested in what Snowden has to say.”

Sergei Nikitin, the head of Amnesty International Russia, said: "Yes, I have received a brief email. It said that he would like to meet with a representative of a human rights organisation – there was not much information there. I'm planning to go."

Reuters reported that Transparency International was a third recipient of the email.

In the latest in its series of scoops based on documents provided by Snowden, the Guardian this morning reports that  Microsoft has collaborated closely with US intelligence services to allow users' communications to be intercepted, including helping the National Security Agency to circumvent the company's own encryption.