Snowden and Others: Panama Papers Show Whistleblowers 'Vital' to Democracy

While the world continues to unpack the significance of the Panama Papers, Edward Snowden and other whistleblowers are extolling the bravery of the anonymous individual who brought this global web of corruption to light. 

The 11.5 million documents from the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca confirm that “the most privileged and the most powerful members of society are operating by a different set of rules,” Snowden said Tuesday evening.

As the biggest whistleblower leak in history, Snowden added that the Panama Papers show that, “more than ever, the role of the whistleblower in a free society has become not only desirable but vital.”

Speaking via video link before an audience at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, the NSA whistleblower continues to claim political asylum in Moscow to avoid prosecution for his role in exposing U.S. government surveillance in 2013.

According to the Toronto Star:

Indeed, as news of the leaks first broke on Sunday, Snowden recognized the heroism behind the revelations, tweeting:

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