Sarah Harrison (journalist)
| Sarah Harrison | |
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Harrison at the 30th Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg, 2013
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| Born | 1981/1982 (age 33–34)[1] |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom[2] |
| Alma mater | Queen Mary, University of London, City University London |
| Genre | News leaks |
| Subject | Human rights violations, global surveillance and security[2] |
| Website | |
| wikileaks |
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Sarah Harrison (born 1981/1982[1]) is a British journalist, legal researcher, and WikiLeaks section editor. She works with the WikiLeaks Legal Defense and is Julian Assange's closest adviser.[3] 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.
Early life and career[edit]
Harrison was born to Ian and Jennifer Harrison, respectively an executive at clothing retailer Burton, and a reading specialist.[1] In her youth, Harrison attended Sevenoaks School, a private school.[1] Her father has said she was a good runner and swimmer.[1] Harrison performed well in her International Baccalaureate exams and took a gap year to travel and ski.[1] She studied English at Queen Mary, University of London.[1] Harrison continued to travel and decided to be a journalist.[1]
In 2009, Harrison became an unpaid intern researcher at the Centre for Investigative Journalism at City University, London, which trains journalists.[1] In 2010, she became a junior researcher at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a new professional organization also at the university.[1] She later graduated from City University London.[4]
WikiLeaks[edit]
As an intern at the Centre, she was assigned to Julian Assange before the Afghan War documents leak.[5] She sorted files about the Iraq War from Assange for future television documentaries.[1] After Daniel Domscheit-Berg left WikiLeaks over a dispute with Assange, Harrison's role in the organisation increased, particularly with the embassy cable publication and Assange's legal fight against Swedish extradition.[5] Harrison is a WikiLeaks section editor.[3] She works with the WikiLeaks Legal Defense led by Baltasar Garzón,[2] and is Julian Assange's closest adviser.[3]
Edward Snowden[edit]
On 24 June 2013, WikiLeaks said that Harrison accompanied National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden on a high-profile[6] flight from Hong Kong to Moscow en route to political asylum from US extradition.[2][3][5][6] 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.[5] At the time, she had been with the organisation for over two years.[3] On 1 August 2013, Harrison accompanied Snowden out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport after he was granted a year of temporary asylum.[7]
In 2014 Harrison spoke about her support for Wikileaks' endeavours saying "the greatest unaccountable power of today [is] the United States and our Western democracies." [8]
Harrison currently lives in Berlin under legal advice that it would be unsafe to return to the UK.[9]
Harrison also works as acting director for Courage Foundation, an organisation whose aim is proving support to whistleblowers all around the world, including Edward Snowden himself.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Levy, Geoffrey (28 June 2013). "The public school girl who fell for Julian Assange- then went on the run with the world’s most wanted man". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b c d e 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.
- ^ Daily Mail Reporter (18 December 2010). "Welcome to WikiLeaks Manor: Julian Assange enjoys an emotional reunion with his mother". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ a b 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 October 7, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
- ^ Berthold Stevens (2 July 2014), Exposing the secrets of unaccountable power Deutsche Welle
- ^ "Exclusive: WikiLeaks Editor Sarah Harrison on Helping Edward Snowden, Being Forced to Live in Exile". Democracy Now!. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ^ Courage team members participate in Reddit AMA
External links[edit]
Media related to Sarah Harrison at Wikimedia Commons
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