Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden might voluntarily return to the United States if given assurances of his constitutional rights, his father said in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.
Lonnie Snowden was "reasonably confident" his son, who faces espionage charges in the United States for alleged leaking of secret surveillance information, would return if certain conditions were met, the June 27 letter said. It was written by a lawyer on Snowden's behalf, and was obtained by Reuters.
The younger Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, should not be detained or imprisoned before trial, should not be subject to a gag order, and should be tried in a venue of his choosing, the letter said.
Edward Snowden, a U.S. citizen, fled the United States to Hong Kong in May, a few weeks before publication in the Guardian and the Washington Post of details he said he provided about U.S. government surveillance of Internet and phone traffic.
He has not been seen since he arrived in Moscow on Sunday, but Russian officials said he was in a transit area at Sheremetyevo airport. He has requested political asylum in Ecuador.
Representatives for the Justice Department could not be reached immediately for comment on the letter.
Lonnie Snowden said he was concerned that his son was being manipulated by others, including people from the anti-government secrecy group WikiLeaks, he said in an interview on NBC television earlier on Friday.
"I am concerned about those who surround him," he told NBC. "Wikileaks - if you look at past history - their focus isn't necessarily the Constitution of the United States. It's simply to release as much information as possible. So that alone is a concern for me."
Snowden's father said he has not had contact with his son since April, NBC reported.
"I love him. I would like to have the opportunity to communicate with him. I don't want to put him in peril," he said in the interview.
Snowden said he did not think his son had committed treason, even though he said Edward Snowden broke U.S. laws in releasing details about the federal monitoring programs.
"He has betrayed his government, but I don't believe that he's betrayed the people of the United States," he said.
据路透社最新报道，斯诺登的父亲近日在给美国司法部长埃里克·霍尔德的信中说，前美国间谍机构雇员爱德华·斯诺登可能自愿返回美国，但前提是他的宪法权利得到保证。
尽管目前爱德华·斯诺登在美国因涉嫌泄露秘密监视信息而面临间谍指控，但他的父亲朗尼·斯诺登在6月27日的信中表示，只要满足某些条件，他“有理由相信”儿子会回到美国。 这封信是由一位律师为他代笔的。
信中说，斯诺登是美国国家安全局的前雇员，他在受到审判之前不应被拘捕或关押，也不应受美国言论禁止令的限制，对他的审判应该在他选择的地点进行。
爱德华·斯诺登是美国公民，在5月份从美国逃往香港，几周之后，英国《卫报》和美国《华盛顿邮报》刊登了他披露的美国政府监视互联网和电话通讯的详细细节。
他自从上周日抵达莫斯科后就消失了踪影，但俄罗斯官员说，他目前在莫斯科谢列梅捷沃国际机场的中间集结区。他已经向厄瓜多尔申请政治避难。
记者暂时尚未联系到美国司法部的代表对这封信发表评论。
朗尼·斯诺登说，他担心他的儿子正受到别人的控制，包括反对美国政府的秘密组织维基解密，他是在周五接受美国全国广播公司（NBC)的电视采访时说这番话的。
“我很担心那些围在他身边的人，”他对NBC说，维基解密——如果你看看过去的历史——他们关注的不一定是美国的宪法。它只想尽可能多地泄露秘密。只这一点就让我很担心。”
根据NBC的报道， 斯诺登的父亲自称从4月起就跟儿子失去了联系。
“我爱他。我希望有机会跟他沟通。我不想因为这让他陷入危险，” 他在采访中说。
老斯诺登说，他不认为他的儿子犯了叛国罪，尽管他承认爱德华·斯诺登泄露联邦监控项目的细节确实违反了美国的法律。
“他背叛了他的政府，但我不相信他背叛了美国人民，”老斯诺登说。