A lawyer for the fugitive U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden says his client fears for his life after reading explicit threats against him by unnamed U.S. defense officials.



Anatoly Kucherena told Russia's state-run Rossia 24 news station that there are "real threats" to Snowden's life -- an apparent reference to an article posted last week on the website BuzzFeed titled "American Spies Want Edward Snowden Dead."



Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor, is wanted in the United States on treason charges for disclosing details of a U.S. intelligence operation that monitored millions of phone calls and e-mails across the world.



Russia granted Snowden temporary asylum in August.



Kucherena said Snowden is constantly accompanied by security guards and is considering additional security measures.



Based on reporting by AFP and Interfax