MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Norway cannot guarantee that former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden will not be extradited should he travel to Oslo to receive the PEN Club prize in person, a representative from the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security told Sputnik Thursday.
“We cannot in advance make a court decision whether or not this person will be extradited. Once there is a formal request, for example, from the US then the court in Norway will treat it and say whether there is a basis for extradition or there is not,” senior communications adviser for the ministry Andreas Skjold-Lorange explained.
Snowden started making revelations about widespread US global surveillance in 2013. The same year, Russia granted the whistleblower temporary asylum for one year. In August 2014, Snowden received a three-year residence permit to live in Russia.
In 2013, the US authorities sent a diplomatic note, urging the Norwegian authorities to arrest and extradite Snowden should he arrive in the country.