U.S. says won't seek death penalty for Snowden

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has sent a letter to Russian authorities, saying the United States won't seek death penalty for Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor who leaked the massive surveillance program of the agency, U.S. media reported on Friday.

In a letter dated July 23, Holder said Snowden's arguments for temporary asylum in Russia are without merit, as he is seeking asylum on grounds that he will be tortured and face death penalty if returned to the United States, according to CNN.

Holder said death penalty is not an option given the current charges against Snowden, and even if additional charges are filed, the Justice Department won't seek death sentence. He also said Snowden won't be tortured and would face a civilian trial.

"We believe that these assurances eliminate these asserted grounds for Mr. Snowden's claim that he should be treated as a refugee or granted asylum," Holder wrote to the letter sent to Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that Russia would not hand over Snowden, who is stuck in a Moscow airport, to his home country.

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