Sarah Harrison (journalist)
Sarah Harrison is a former WikiLeaks section editor.[3] She worked with the WikiLeaks Legal Defense and has been described as Julian Assange's closest adviser.[4] Harrison accompanied National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden on a high-profile flight from Hong Kong to Moscow while he was sought by the United States government.[5]
Sarah Harrison | |
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Harrison at the 30th Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg, 2013 | |
Occupation | Journalist |
Citizenship | United Kingdom[1] |
Alma mater | Queen Mary, University of London, City University London |
Genre | News leaks |
Subject | Human rights violations, global surveillance and security[1] |
Partner | Julian Assange (dated 2009–2012)[2] |
Website | |
wikileaks |
WikiLeaks
As an intern at the UK-based Centre for Investigative Journalism, she was assigned to Julian Assange before the Afghan War documents leak.[6] After Daniel Domscheit-Berg left WikiLeaks over a dispute with Assange, Harrison's role in the organisation increased, particularly with the US diplomatic cables leak and Assange's legal fight against Swedish extradition.[6] Harrison is a former WikiLeaks section editor.[3][4] She worked with the WikiLeaks Legal Defense led by Baltasar Garzón,[1] and was Julian Assange's closest adviser.[4] In 2014, Harrison spoke about her support for WikiLeaks, saying "the greatest unaccountable power of today [is] the United States and our Western democracies."[7]
Harrison also served as acting director of Courage Foundation, a UK trust to support whistleblowers originally cofounded by Julian Assange as the Journalistic Source Protection Defence Fund,[8] from 2014[9] until April 2017, when WikiLeaks became a Courage beneficiary.[10]
Edward Snowden
On 24 June 2013, WikiLeaks said that Harrison accompanied National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on a high-profile[11] flight from Hong Kong to Moscow en route to political asylum from US extradition.[1][4][6][11] Dominic Rushe of The Guardian observed that Harrison was a "strange choice" because of her lack of legal qualifications compared to other WikiLeaks staff, such as human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson.[6] At the time, Harrison had been with the organisation for over two years.[4] On 1 August 2013, she accompanied Snowden out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport after he was granted a year of temporary asylum.[12] She is interviewed in Citizenfour, which documents Snowden and his flight to Moscow.
Award
Harrison received the Willy Brandt Peace Prize in 2015.[13]
References
- FlorCruz, Michelle (23 June 2013). "Edward Snowden Travels To Moscow Accompanied By WikiLeaks' Sarah Harrison". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- Faiola, Anthony; Adam, Karla (5 July 2013). "Sarah Harrison, the woman from WikiLeaks". World. The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- "Sarah Harrison: "It's not the journalist's role to decide what the public can see"". European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- Kelley, Michael (24 June 2013). "Meet Sarah Harrison, The Wikileaks Representative Travelling With Edward Snowden". Business Insider. Allure Media. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- Corbett, Sara. "How a Snowdenista Kept the NSA Leaker Hidden in a Moscow Airport". Vogue. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- Rushe, Dominic (23 June 2013). "Edward Snowden's WikiLeaks escort one of Assange's closest advisors". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- Berthold Stevens (2 July 2014), Exposing the secrets of unaccountable power Deutsche Welle
- Ackerman, Spencer (13 August 2018). "Julian Assange Went After a Former Ally. It Backfired Epically". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- "Launch of Courage and Snowden Campaign in Berlin, Wednesday 11th June". Courage Foundation. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- "Courage announces new director Naomi Colvin". Courage Foundation. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- Shane, Scott (23 June 2013). "Offering Snowden Aid, WikiLeaks Gets Back in the Game". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- "NSA spy leaks: Edward Snowden leaves Moscow airport". BBC News. 1 August 2013. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- "Sarah Harrison: SPD ehrt Snowden-Vertraute für "politischen Mut"". Spiegel Online. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2016.