MOSCOW, July 17 (RAPSI) - NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has not ruled out the possibility of applying for Russian citizenship, says lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, head of the Civic Chamber and Snowden’s current legal advisor .

Kucherena thinks that Russia would go through with Snowden’s asylum request. He added that the NSA whistleblower remains at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport hotel.

Edward Snowden, 30, admitted to leaking a secret court order to the media in early June, according to which US telecom company Verizon was required to provide data from millions of customers to the US authorities for three months. He also claims an Internet scouring program code-named PRISM allowed the NSA and the FBI to tap into nine US Internet companies and to gather all kinds of information from users, including videos, emails, searches and images.

On June 14, the US authorities charged Snowden under three articles, each of them stipulating punishment of up to 10 years in prison. Two of the charges were brought under the 1917 Espionage Act.

The Civic Chamber is a state institution with 126 members created in 2005 in Russia to analyze draft legislation and monitor the activities of the parliament, government and other government bodies of Russia and its Federal Subjects.