WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning released

CHELSEA Manning, the transgender army private jailed for one of the largest leaks of classified documents in US history, was released from a military prison yesterday after seven years behind bars.

The 29-year-old walked free from a maximum-security facility in Kansas thanks to a commutation of her sentence by president Barack Obama before he left office. In July 2010, Manning – then a male soldier known as Bradley – was arrested over the release of more than 700 000 classified military and diplomatic documents via WikiLeaks.

Without Obama’s parting gift, the army private, who served as an intelligence official in Iraq, would have remained behind bars until 2045, after serving a 35-year sentence.

Supporters of Manning, who attempted suicide twice last year alone, said they feared she would not have been able to survive the long sentence.

Now, she can complete her transition as a free, openly transgender woman.

“For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea. I can imagine surviving and living as the person I am and can finally be in the outside world,” she wrote last week. The military kept her release lowkey and media massed at the military installation caught no glimpse of Manning as she was released.

Labelled a traitor by President Donald Trump, she has gained the support of celebrities and is seen by many Americans as a courageous rights activist who was handed an unfair sentence for revealing civilian deaths caused by US bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan.