A US military judge has sentenced Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison in the WikiLeaks case. The Private was earlier found guilty of 20 criminal counts, including espionage and theft.
21:58 GMT: Bradley Manning, the former Army private who announced he identifies as a woman and wishes to be known as Chelsea Manning, has returned to Fort Leavenworth prison in Kansas to begin serving her 35 year sentence for espionage, theft, and fraud. Fort Leavenworth is an all-male facility and military officials said Manning will not be provided any treatment to facilitate her gender identity announcement. Fort Leavenworth spokesman George Marcec told the Associated Press that Manning will be forbidden from wearing a wig or bra, and must maintain a haircut that adheres to military standards.
12:48 GMT: The
announcement that Manning decided to live out the rest of his
life as a woman has sparked a wave of comments on the internet,
with hashtag #FreeChelsea appearing on Twitter, instead of the
previously used #FreeBradley hashtag.
Join me. Support #Chelsea#Manning. #FreeChelsea#FreeManning
— Jacob Appelbaum (@ioerror) August 22, 2013
12:10 GMT: Bradley
Manning has announced that he’d like to live out the rest of his life as a woman, asking to
be called Chelsea Manning.
“As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone
to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female,” he
said in a statement, which his lawyer, David Coombs, read on NBC
News’ Today show.
The statement also informed that Manning wants to begin hormone
therapy required for a sex change “as soon as
possible.”
23:04 GMT: Coombs also revealed to media members that
prosecutors had initially offered Manning a lower sentence in
exchange for a guilty plea. He refused to elaborate on the
details, citing a non-disclosure agreement, but admitted Manning
would have been given a sentence smaller than 35 years had he
accepted, according to Washington Post researcher Julie Tate.
22:30 GMT: At a press conference immediately following Manning’s sentencing, lead defense attorney David Coombs read a statement from the whistleblower himself. That statement is quoted in part below:
"In our zeal to kill the enemy, we internally debated the definition of torture. We held individuals at Guantanamo for years without due process. We inexplicably turned a blind eye to torture and executions by the Iraqi government. And we stomached countless other acts in the name of our war on terror," he said.
"Patriotism is often the cry extolled when morally questionable acts are advocated by those in power. When these cries of patriotism drown our any logically based intentions [unclear], it is usually an American soldier that is ordered to carry out some ill-conceived mission.
"Our nation has had similar dark moments for the virtues of democracy—the Trail of Tears, the Dred Scott decision, McCarthyism, the Japanese-American internment camps—to name a few. I am confident that many of our actions since 9/11 will one day be viewed in a similar light.
"As the late Howard Zinn once said, ‘There is not a flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.’"
22:25 GMT: Protests have sprouted in several major cities throughout the US, with the image below captured in New York City's Times Square.
22:21 GMT: Joining the chorus of critics Wednesday was the Center for Constitutional Rights with a statement that called for Manning’s supporters to channel their outrage and continue to push for his freedom.
“We are outraged that a whistleblower and a patriot has been sentenced on a conviction under the Espionage Act. The government has stretched this archaic and discredited law to send an unmistakable warning to potential whistleblowers and journalists willing to publish their information,” the statement read.
“This show trial was a frontal assault on the First Amendment, from the way the prosecution twisted Manning’s actions to blur the distinction between whistleblowing and spying to the government’s tireless efforts to obstruct media coverage of the proceedings. It is a travesty of justice that Manning, who helped bring to light the criminality of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, is being punished while the alleged perpetrators of the crimes he exposed are not even investigated.”
21:45 GMT: Human Rights Watch, one of the world’s
leading defenders of human rights, has also issued a statement calling the sentence a
miscarriage of justice.
“The aggressive prosecution and harsh sentencing of Manning not only contrasts sharply with the total impunity of former senior US officials for torture and related abuses, but far exceeds the sentences most democratic countries impose for public leaks of sensitive information,” said Dinah PoKempner, the general counsel at Human Rights Watch.
21:06 GMT: The Freedom of the Press Foundation, the same organization that raised funds for an independent court reporter during the trial, has released a statement condemning Manning’s sentence.
“This harsh overreaction is intended to send a message to all potential whistleblowers who might expose wrongdoing by the American government: disclosing information to the American public for the betterment of society will be treated as harshly as espionage for profit,” it read.
“With this sentence, Manning will be the longest imprisoned leaker in American history. If he serves even half of his sentence, he will have been imprisoned longer than all other prosecuted leakers combined.”
20:43 GMT: Manning, who will turn 26 in December, was expected to be transferred to prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on Wednesday, according to The Guardian. There, at the only prison designated for military servicemen sentenced to over a decade in prison, inmates are highly restricted and often work for pennies an hour.
Still, wrote Raelean Finch on the Captain Incarcerated blog, which chronicles life inside Fort Leavenworth, the conditions are more hospitable than prisons for the civilian population.
"It's presided over by military folks," Finch said. "These are people who cleaned bathrooms with a toothbrush during basic training."
18:40 GMT:“Manning’s trial and conviction is an
affront to basic concepts of Western justice,” WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange said in a statement posted on the group’s website
following the private’s sentencing.
17:40 GMT: Manning’s Defense Team will file a pardon request to the US president Barack Obama early next week, said lead attorney David Coombs at a news conference.
“Early next week I will file a request to the President for the pardon of Private Manning, or at least commute his sentence”.
BREAKING: #Manning's defense to ask President Obama to pardon Bradley Manning http://t.co/pbBnVprv2x
— RT America (@RT_America) August 21, 2013
17:30 GMT: The news conference, where Manning’s attorney David Coombs will address the media about the sentence, has started.
Retired Col. Ann Wright addresses media at Bradley Manning press conference. pic.twitter.com/xsmaBKrkQI
— RT America (@RT_America) August 21, 2013
17:20 GMT:
Dr. Cornel West and Michael Ratner preparing for the post-sentencing Bradley Manning press conference. pic.twitter.com/w8xiPmDGyA
— RT America (@RT_America) August 21, 2013
The official "Pardon Bradley Manning" website is now up: http://t.co/HEhU8B9osB#Manning
— Andrew Blake (@apblake) August 21, 2013
17:10 GMT: Adrian Lamo, a US threat analyst and hacker who reported Manning to federal authorities in 2010, has said that the Private’s sentence “could have no happy ending, this ending is among the least unhappy."
Full email from hacker Adrian Lamo who reported #manning to authorities on his sentencing today. pic.twitter.com/QZevINK7vu
— Chris Harbord (@HarbordC) August 21, 2013
16:40 GMT:
With trial over safe to show #Manning's legal team, in the courtroom http://t.co/dN7Lv8d5Ai via @TwitPic
— Regina (@regibaby67) August 21, 2013
16:30 GMT: RT web producer Andrew Blake reports live from Ft. Meade.
16:10 GMT:
No examples provided in open court during sentencing of Bradley Manning's disclosures to WikiLeaks causing deaths or injuries
— Kevin Gosztola (@kgosztola) August 21, 2013
Harvard law professor Yochai Benkler: #Manning sentence "greater threat to the American constitutional order" than any of his disclosures.
— Paul Lewis (@PaulLewis) August 21, 2013
16:05 GMT:“More than anything else, the case shows the
urgent need to reform the USA’s antiquated Espionage Act and
strengthen protections for those who reveal information that the
public has a need and a right to know, ” said Widney Brown,
Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty
International.
15:50 GMT: Bradley Manning is "one more casualty of a horrible, wrongful war" and he did not deserve any prison time, Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. He said that Manning will always be an inspiration for civil and moral courage to truth tellers. He called the prosecutor's demand for 60 years "vicious," but said the judge's ruling was much better.
Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, tells me Bradley Manning's 35-year sentence will not deter all future whistleblowers.
— Paul Lewis (@PaulLewis) August 21, 2013
15:37 GMT: Moscow has slammed the “harsh” sentence for US Army Pfc.
Bradley Manning, saying it was apparently meant to scare away
other whistleblowers, and was not up to human rights standards.
“When the USA’s interests are at stake, the American judicial system, as in the case of Bradley Manning, takes unjustifiably harsh decisions based on the principle 'let’s teach them so that it doesn’t become a habit' – and without any glance at the human rights aspects,” said Russian Foreign Ministry’s special representative for human rights Konstantin Dolgov.
15:30 GMT: Manning has to serve a third of his sentence
before he can apply for parole. His sentence will automatically
be sent to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals. Before the next
phase, the court-martial proceedings must be turned into an
official transcript and approved by the defense, the prosecution
and the judge. After that the Private and his defense can take
the case to the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces and then
possibly to the US Supreme Court.
15:19 GMT: Co-director of the Liberty and National
Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, called the
sentence "unprecedented" in its magnitude.
"It's more than 17 times the next longest sentence ever
served” for providing secret material to the media, Elizabeth
Goitein said. "It is in line with sentences for paid espionage
for the enemy."
15:17 GMT:
Significant strategic victory in Bradley Manning case. Bradley Manning now elegible for release in less than 9 years, 4.4 in one calculation
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 21, 2013
15:15 GMT: “Instead of fighting tooth and
nail to lock him up for decades, the US government should turn
its attention to investigating and delivering justice for the
serious human rights abuses committed by its officials in the
name of countering terror,” said Widney Brown, Senior
Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty
International.
USA: Commute Bradley Manning’s sentence and investigate the abuses he exposed http://t.co/zZmlpZ7HKZ#HumanRights
— AmnestyInternational (@AmnestyOnline) August 21, 2013
15:10 GMT:
#Manning aunt leaves courtroom after sentencing. She was one of his only family members to testify in trial pic.twitter.com/y0nT1qrugs
— Liz Wahl (@lizwahl) August 21, 2013
15:07 GMT:
Obama admin: we aggressively prosecute those who expose war crimes, and diligently protect those who commit them.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 21, 2013
15:00 GMT: There was a gasp among the spectators after the
sentence was announced. One woman put her hands up, covering her
face.
"I'm shocked. I did not think she would do that," said
Manning supporter Jim Holland. "Thirty-five years, my
Lord."
14:55 GMT: The decision was immediately condemned by the
American Civil Liberties Union.
"When a soldier who shared information with the press and
public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured
prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with
our justice system. A legal system that doesn’t distinguish
between leaks to the press in the public interest and treason
against the nation will not only produce unjust results, but will
deprive the public of critical information that is necessary for
democratic accountability. This is a sad day for Bradley Manning,
but it’s also a sad day for all Americans who depend on brave
whistleblowers and a free press for a fully informed public
debate".
A soldier who gave the press info is punished more harshly than others who killed civilians https://t.co/IcDTmfbyBo#Manning
— ACLU National (@ACLU) August 21, 2013
14:50 GMT: Manning stood at attention and appeared not to
react when military judge Lind announced the punishment without
explanation.
14:45 GMT:
Hayden: Illegally spied on millions on Americans. Clapper: Admittedly lied to Congress re NSA surveillance. Manning: Sentenced to 35 yrs.
— Amie Stepanovich (@astepanovich) August 21, 2013
14:38 GMT: Supporters in the gallery shouted, “We’ll
keep fighting for you, Bradley!” after the sentence was
announced.
14:30 GMT:
#Manning sentenced to 35 years. Means he'll likely serve about 8 to 8.5 yrs more in confinement and be out by the time he's 33 or 34.
— Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) August 21, 2013
14:24 GMT: Manning will be credited with the 1,294 plus
112 days he spent in pre-trial confinement. Manning was also
dishonorably discharged, his rank was reduced to private from
private first class. He was forced to forfeit all pay, although
no additional fine was levied against him.
14:18 GMT: Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.
BREAKING: BRADLEY MANNING SENTENCED TO 35 YEARS . http://t.co/B0nX2XVPYx
— RT America (@RT_America) August 21, 2013
14:17 GMT: Lead attorney of the Manning defense, David
Coombs is to address the media about the sentence in a news
conference scheduled for 1.30pm ET (5.30 GMT) , Alexa O'Brien
reports.
14:16 GMT: The sentencing of Bradley Manning has
started.
14:05 GMT:
Bradley Manning's sentence will most certainly be longer than individuals who actually killed people when committing war crimes
— Kevin Gosztola (@kgosztola) August 21, 2013
14:03 GMT: Alexa O’Brien writes that after sentencing,
Manning will have the option of petitioning General Jeffrey
Buchanan, the Convening Authority overseeing Bradley Manning’s
trial, for clemency. General Buchanan also has the option of
reducing the sentence on any particular count or overturning it
altogether. Conversely, Buchanan cannot overturn a not guilty
verdict or tack on time to the sentence. In any case, Manning’s
case will immediately be reviewed by the Army Court of Criminal
Appeals if he is sentenced to more than one year in prison.
13:50 GMT:
SLIGHT DELAY in sentencing. It will be announced "shortly after 10am" #Manning
— Andrew Blake (@apblake) August 21, 2013
13:49 GMT:
The cameras in the courtroom are voice-activated, so Pfc. #Manning own't be on camera unless he speaks (he won't).#Manning
— Andrew Blake (@apblake) August 21, 2013
13:46 GMT: RT’s Washington-based journalist Andrew Blake is reporting live from the courtroom. He will bring the latest news and information as the sentencing gets underway.
I've requested that the live feed in the media center broadcasts Pfc. Manning's reaction to the sentence. May/may not happen #Manning
— Andrew Blake (@apblake) August 21, 2013
13:43 GMT: Alexa O’Brien says journalists will not have
the option of communicating the Manning sentence to the outside
world until after recess has been called. He also tweeted that
access to the Internet will be cut off as soon as court is called
to order.
13:33 GMT: A detailed chart of the charges Manning was
found guilty of and the maximum sentences available under each
one.
Here is a IMAGE of how #Manning 's conviction was merged for sentencing purposes. He faces MAX 90 years. No MIN. pic.twitter.com/27fI4T75Hs
— Alexa O'Brien (@carwinb) August 21, 2013
12:11 GMT:
1294 Days will be subtracted from Bradley's sentence. @nathanLfuller Yeah that looks correct after I did the math.
— Art Superheroes (@WikileaksTruck) August 20, 2013
11:50 GMT: WikiLeaks activist and blogger Clark Stoeckley
estimates that Manning will likely get a 30-year sentence, with
the likelihood of parole in 10 years. Stoeckley questions why
Manning is facing up to 90-years-in prison, while the apache
gunner who appeared in the ‘Collateral Murder’ video has never
faced criminal charges.
11:40 GMT: Independent journalist Alexa O’Brien, who has extensively covered the Manning trial, tweeted that all of the networks have already arrived.
“I am told MSNBC showed up for the first or second time
yesterday,” O’Brien said.
11:35 GMT:
Emergency action for #BradleyManning TODAY! pic.twitter.com/NPL0WnRzRn
— CODEPINK (@codepink) August 21, 2013
11:30 GMT:
Here is a picture of the media line before 7am. Swarms of media expected-- court room expected to be full. #Manningpic.twitter.com/yR9gKdNO54
— Alexa O'Brien (@carwinb) August 21, 2013
11:20 GMT: Col. Denise Lind, who on Tuesday began her deliberations in the court-martial case, said she would announce the first sentence for Manning on Wednesday at 10am local time (14:00 GMT). Wednesday’s sentence will be for the army private’s disclosure of classified information through the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
The prosecution has sought a 60-year sentence, arguing the stiff term would deter others from leaking classified information.
"There's value in deterrence," prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said in his closing argument on Monday.
Last week the 25-year-old Manning apologized for the “unintended consequences” of his actions, saying he believed he was “going to help people, not hurt people."
He told the court at Fort Meade, Maryland, that "the last three years have been a learning experience for me."
The soldier was convicted last month on 20 charges including espionage, theft and violating computer regulations. Manning was found not guilty, however, of the most serious charge – aiding the enemy – which entailed a potential sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Manning faces up to 90 years in prison for passing on more than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010.
Manning is entitled to appeal against any verdict handed to him
by the court-martial in the Army Court of Criminal Appeal within
six months.