Placard for WikiLeaks and Free Bradley Manning protest. Photograph courtesy of Save Bradley
Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in Prison by Judge Colonel Denise Lind, who in July found him guilty of 20 charges including espionage.
Manning, a U.S. soldier, was responsible for enabling the Wikileaks website to publish hundreds of thousands of classified files including diplomatic cables and battlefield reports whilst he was stationed in Iraq during 2010.
Prosecutors had asked for a sixty year sentence in order to deter future offenders, which the defence had asked only for Lind not to steal Manning’s youth. It is possible that he will not serve the entire duration of the sentence as military prisoners may reduce their sentences through good behaviour, however it will be at least a decade before Manning comes up for parole. The judge did however grant 112 days credit on account of the harsh conditions which Manning had faced immediately after his arrest.
Although the defence argued that Private Manning had not been fit to be deployed overseas due to mental instability, the soldier did say in a statement during the hearing that he had been misguided in his actions, and that he should have worked inside the system.
Although the military establishment and a large part of the American public believes that Manning has been justly treated, there are also those who disagree, and the human rights charity Amnesty International has started a petition to President Obama calling for Manning to be pardoned.
Written by Rowan Arthur
