,
7 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
NEWS: First of the ‘Snowden refugees’ has been granted asylum in Canada. Woman who helped the whistleblower in Hong Kong is now on her way to Toronto, her lawyer told us. She will be resettled in Montreal. wapo.st/2FrM5xt?tid=ss…
Some background: When Snowden fled to HK he stayed in a luxe hotel until his name was splashed across the papers, then he disappeared into the city. In 2016, a group of seven asylum-seekers solved the mystery of where he was. They had sheltered him.
Vanessa Rodel was living in the city's crowded tenements when the lawyer handling her asylum case said an American in distress needed a place to crash. She welcomed him in. Then he moved in with other asylum seekers until reappearing on a flight to Moscow. 3/
Going public about their role in the Snowden case did not help the seven asylum-seekers. Hong Kong rejected their claims. They have appealed, but they fear deportation. Vanessa Rodel and her daughter are the first to get out. Five remain. 4/
Their supporters are calling on Trudeau to speed up their cases, so they can join Vanessa and her daughter in Canada. Vanessa lands tonight around 6 p.m., will spend the night in Toronto, then travel to Montreal on Tuesday. A group of lawyers and activists sponsored her. 5/
Expect Vanessa and her supporters to press the Canadians on the question of speed. When it comes to high-profile refugees, cases can move quickly. Will the Trudeau government move quickly on the rest of the "Snowden refugees"? #cdnpoli
@Snowden Vanessa is en route to Canada. Would you like to comment?
