Russia's Interfax news agency reports that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden is hanging out at the Russian airport, waiting for a flight to Cuba, and is accompanied by a woman named Sarah Harrison.
Harrison is the closest adviser to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who orchestrated the release of reams of classifiedU.S. government documents and other embarrassing information.
Wikileaks confirmed: "Miss Harrison has courageously assisted Mr. Snowden with his lawful departure from Hong Kong and is accompanying Mr. Snowden in his passage to safety."
Harrison is a U.K. journalist, legal researcher, and section editor for WikiLeaks who has been with the organization for more than two years. She was assigned to Assange ahead of WikiLeaks' publication of the Afghan war logs.
An interesting point from Dominic Rushe of The Guardian (emphasis ours):
Despite her closeness to Assange, Harrison may seem a strange choice to accompany Snowden, as unlike several people close to WikiLeaks – most notably human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson – Harrison has no legal qualifications or background.
She previously worked as an investigative researcher for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Rushe also notes that the "direct intervention in Snowden's situation marks a departure in practice for WikiLeaks – which has previously stressed its arms-length relationship with sources – but is consistent with the organisation's world view on protecting and supporting whistleblowers."
WikiLeaks is equating the situations of Snowden and Assange as former Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon, legal director of WikiLeaks and lawyer for Julian Assange, said Wikileaks is "interested in preserving Mr. Snowden’s rights and protecting him as a person. What is being done to Mr Snowden and to Mr Julian Assange - for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest - is an assault against the people".
In August Ecuador granted political asylum to Assange, who is currently holed up in the country's London embassy. Snowden has requested asylum in Ecuador.
Here's Harrison in July 2012 reading a statement from Assange — who, like Snowden, is avoiding U.S. prosecution for espionage — about the release of the Syria Files i.e., emails from the Syrian government.
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