Obama commutes Chelsea Manning's sentence

The 29-year-old transgender US Army private, who was already in jail for nearly seven years, will be freed on 17 May instead of her scheduled 2045 release. Manning had been sentenced to 35 years for her role in leaking diplomatic cables to Wikileaks in 2010.

Besides her, Obama also granted commutation of sentences to 208 individuals and pardons to 64 others. The commutation reduces Manning's sentence, but it is not a pardon in the strict sense of the word.

The US Army charged Manning for the unauthorised possession and distribution of more than 700,000 secret diplomatic and military documents and video - in what has been considered one of the largest leaks of classified material in history.

PSI considers Chelsea Manning's disclosures were a public service as we stand up for whistleblowers who are key in the fight against corruption, tax evasion and human rights abuses.

Check out PSI's report on the need for whistleblower protections here:

 

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