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Fellow whistleblower Edward Snowden has responded to the arrest of Julian Assange in London, tweeting that the images of Ecuadorian authorities handing him over to UK police were a “dark moment for press freedom.”

In the tweet, Snowden said the images of a publisher of “award-winning journalism” being dragged out of the embassy would “end up in the history books.”

Images of Ecuador’s ambassador inviting the UK’s secret police into the embassy to drag a publisher of–like it or not–award-winning journalism out of the building are going to end up in the history books. Assange’s critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom. https://t.co/ys1AIdh2FP

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 11, 2019

“Assange’s critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom,” he wrote.

Important background for journalists covering the arrest of Julian #Assange by Ecuador: the United Nations formally ruled his detention to be arbitrary, a violation of human rights. They have repeatedly issued statements calling for him to walk free–including very recently. pic.twitter.com/fr12rYdWUF

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 11, 2019

Assange was arrested at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday morning, just days after WikiLeaks had said his removal from the building was imminent following a withdrawal of asylum from Quito.

The whistleblower, who has released hundreds of thousands of authentic documents and diplomatic cables, had been living in exile at the embassy for the last 6 years.

https://www.rt.com/news/456221-snowden-reacts-assange-arrest/