No Norway guarantee for Snowden

A Norwegian court has dismissed a lawsuit that sought a legal guarantee to allow Edward Snowden to travel to Norway without risk of being extradited to the United States.

The Olso district court said on Monday it cannot issue such a guarantee for someone who isn't present in Norway.

An Oslo law firm filed the lawsuit in April on behalf of the former National Security Agency contractor and the Norwegian PEN group, a free speech organisation that had invited Snowden to receive its Ossietzky Prize in November. A lawyer representing the group told Norwegian news agency NTB the case would be appealed.

Snowden, who is currently in Russia, faces US charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years for leaking details of a secret US eavesdropping programme.