President Obama Has Commuted Chelsea Manning’s Prison Sentence
Manning has already served more time in prison than any other whistleblower in US history.
With just a few days left until he leaves office, President Obama has agreed to commute the 35-year jail sentence of US soldier and whistleblower Chelsea Manning.
The 29-year-old army private will be released from the Fort Leavenworth military prison on May 17, having already served more than six and a half years for sharing secret military documents with Wikileaks in 2010.
Manning’s supporters have heaped pressure on the Obama administration in recent months to free her before his successor, Donald Trump, assumes the presidency. Last year, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange said he would be willing to take Manning’s place in prison if Obama granted her clemency.
If Obama grants Manning clemency, Assange will agree to US prison in exchange — despite its clear unlawfulness https://t.co/MZU30S3Eia
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) September 15, 2016
“It’s incredible,” Manning’s lawyer Nancy Hollander told The Guardian. “I cannot believe it – in 120 days she will be free and it will all be over.”
Since being arrested in Iraq in 2010, Manning has spent more time in prison than any other whistleblower in US history. She reportedly attempted suicide twice in the past year, which resulted in her jailers punishing her with further solitary confinement. She also went on a hunger strike that only ended after the military agreed to provide her with treatment for her gender dysphoria.