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DIGITAL EXILES Five key players in Berlin's cyber-resistance movement(Observer (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Laura Poitras An Oscar-nominated American documentary journalist, whose first two films, My Country, My Country and The Oath dealt with aspects of the US war on terror. She left the US in 2006 after being placed on a government "watch list" that saw her electronic items, notes and credit cards routinely confiscated at airports. Her latest film, Citizenfour, about Edward Snowden, was completed in Berlin. Jacob Appelbaum American activist and hacker Appelbaum was a key figure in developing Tor, the global networking software that enables users to surf the net anonymously. His association with Wikileaks led to his Twitter account being subpoenaed by the US Department of Justice in 2010, and he was detained numerous times at US airports. He then moved to Berlin where he worked with Der Spiegel on the Snowden revelations, including the news that Angela Merkel's phone had been bugged by the NSA. Sarah Harrison A British Wikileaker and close associate of Julian Assange, Harrison went to Moscow to help Edward Snowden apply for political asylum in 21 countries. She then flew to Berlin, fearing that a return to the UK could see her charged under Section 7 of the Terrorism Act. She set up the Courage Foundation, which aims to support whistleblowers worldwide. It is helping fund the defence of Snowden and Jeremy Hammond, the Anonymous member serving 10 years in a US jail. Annie Machon A former MI5 agent who resigned in 1997 alongside her then partner David Shayler and went to the press with claims of criminality within the intelligence service. Shayler was charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act following a European manhunt and later tried and convicted. Machon is now an activist and campaigner on behalf of whistleblowers who she calls "the regulators of last resort". Andy Muller-Maguhn A longtime member and former spokesman of Europe's most influential hacker association, Chaos Computer Club, which supports freedom of information and advocates government transparency. He is a former member of ICANN, which controls the internet's domain names and is consulted by German politicians regarding the internet and digital rights. A close associate of Julian Assange, he has been involved in fundraising for Wikileaks . Daniel Dunford (c) 2014 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |