U.S. document leaker gets 35 years
Manning demoted, discharged; could be out in 6 1/2 years, lawyer says
U.S. soldier Bradley Manning was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison for giving hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, the largest such leak in U.S. history.
The military judge didn’t offer any explanation for the sentence. Manning stood at attention and appeared not to react.
The closely watched case has seen the 25-year-old called both a whistleblower and a traitor, and it opened a fierce debate on national security and freedom of expression.
Manning had faced up to 90 years in prison. Prosecutors had wanted at least a 60-year sentence, saying it would dissuade other soldiers from following in his footsteps.
The defence suggested no more than 25 years so Manning could rebuild his life.
With good behaviour and credit for the more than three years he has been held, Manning could be out in about 6½ years, according to his lawyer, David Coombs. Manning’s rank was reduced, he was dishonourably discharged and he forfeited his pay.
Coombs told a news conference at a nearby hotel that early next week he’ll file, through the army, a request that the president pardon the soldier “or at the very least commute” the sentence to time already served.
“The time to end Brad’s suffering is now,” Coombs said.
The White House said that if Manning wants to seek a presidential pardon, he must apply for clemency and his request “will be considered in that process like any other application.”
Amnesty International and the Bradley Manning Support Network have announced an online petition asking President Barack Obama to pardon Manning.
Manning’s uncle Kevin Fox told BBC television that the soldier shouldn’t have been given any time at all and he called him a hero.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called the sentence a “significant strategic victory” considering that Manning could be free within a decade. But he said “the only just outcome” is Manning’s unconditional release.
Guards hurried Manning out of the courtroom, and some supporters shouted: “We’ll keep fighting for you, Bradley” and “You’re our hero.”
Prosecutors did not immediately comment. Coombs said he was in tears after the sentence was handed down but that Manning said, “I know you did your best. It’s going to be OK.”
Manning leaked more than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department diplomatic cables in 2010 while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
He was convicted last month of 20 offences, including six Espionage Act violations. Prosecutors were unable to prove that he aided the enemy, a crime punishable by life in prison.
Manning has apologized and said he wanted to expose the U.S. military’s “blood lust” and generate debate over the wars and U.S. policy.
“I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people,” he said last week.
His defence team said he was under severe mental pressure as a young man struggling with gender identity issues at a time when openly gay people were not allowed to serve in the military.