- 17 May 2017 14:50
#14805747
IF I HAD UNDERSTOOD THE SITUATION A BIT BETTER I SHOULD HAVE PROBABLY JOINED THE ANARCHISTSGeorge Orwell
Is she a traitor or a heroine? Any comments?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 101783186/
Pvt. Chelsea Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison Wednesday after serving seven years of a 35-year sentence for leaking thousands of diplomatic cables and other secret documents to WikiLeaks, the U.S. Army said.
Cynthia Smith, an Army spokesperson, confirmed that Manning had left Fort Leavenworth's United States Disciplinary Barracks but declined to provide additional information because of privacy act restrictions. BuzzFeed reported that she was freed at 2 a.m. CT.
The transgender soldier, 29, who entered prison as a man named Bradley Manning, will remain an active-duty, unpaid soldier, eligible for health care and other benefits while her court-martial conviction remains under appeal, said Dave Foster, an Army spokesman. She will also have access to commissaries and military exchanges, but will not be paid.
Manning was arrested outside a U.S. Army base in Iraq in May 2010. Her 2013 sentence was commuted in the final days of the Obama administration, a move that infuriated some in the military and President Trump. She would have been eligible for parole in six years.
Chelsea Manning to remain on active duty, receive health care after prison release
More than 100 troops seeking transgender care
Nancy Hollander, Manning's lawyer, told the BBC: "She's ready to finally be able to live as the woman that she is."
Hollander told the Guardian: “People keep assuming that just because someone is released their appeal is over. The rest of her case is still out there and we want to clear her name. She was convicted of crimes that I don’t believe she committed and her whole prosecution was unfair.”
On Monday, a tweet from Manning's account said: "Two more days until the freedom of civilian life ^_^ Now hunting for private #healthcare like millions of Americans =P"
The Pulse Films production company announced at the Cannes Film Festival in France that Manning will be filmed for a documentary upon her release Wednesday.
Manning’s mother Susan Manning, from Wales in the United Kingdom, told the Guardian: “It is going to be very hard for her to readjust after so long inside the prison’s four walls and I’m happy she will be staying in Maryland where she has family to look out for her. Chelsea is so intelligent and talented, I hope she now has the chance to go to college to complete her studies, and to do and be whatever she wants. My message to Chelsea? Two words: ‘Go, girl!’”
Courage Foundation, an international organization that supports people who place themselves at risk to contribute to historical records; Reporters Without Borders Germany and the German-based nonprofit Wau Holland Foundation, which says it supports moral courage in the digital realm, started a fundraising campaign Wednesday to help Manning pay for her legal appeal.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nat ... 101783186/
IF I HAD UNDERSTOOD THE SITUATION A BIT BETTER I SHOULD HAVE PROBABLY JOINED THE ANARCHISTSGeorge Orwell