Edward Snowden speaks via video link as he takes part in a round table on the protection of whistleblowers at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden on Thursday called the arrest in Britain of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a “dark moment for press freedom” and said it contravened a call by the United Nations to allow him to walk free.

“Assange’s critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom,” Snowden, who lives in Moscow under an asylum deal after he leaked classified information in 2013, wrote on Twitter.