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Chelsea Manning to be freed
Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2020 11:27 pm
by Bird on a Fire
A US judge has ordered the immediate release of former army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning from prison.
Manning had been remanded for refusing to testify in an inquiry into Wikileaks and had been in detention in Virginia since last May.
She was scheduled to appear in court on Friday, but the judge ruled that it was no longer necessary for her to testify
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-us-canada-51865165
Follows a suicide attempt yesterday
Still, having had her sentence commuted by Obama she really out to be out of prison by now.
Re: Chelsea Manning to be freed
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:21 am
by Pucksoppet
I think it is a bit more complicated than that.
She is in detention because she is refusing to testify to a Grand Jury. AFAIK that is 'contempt of court', so it is not directly because of the sentence she was serving, for violations of the Espionage Act, that was not pardoned but commuted by Obama.
She has been jailed twice for refusing to testify to a Grand Jury. I would be unsurprised if she is jailed again for the same reason if a third Grand Jury is convened.
Re: Chelsea Manning to be freed
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:33 pm
by Bird on a Fire
Pucksoppet wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:21 am
I think it is a bit more complicated than that.
She is in detention because she is refusing to testify to a Grand Jury. AFAIK that is 'contempt of court', so it is not directly because of the sentence she was serving, for violations of the Espionage Act, that was not pardoned but commuted by Obama.
She has been jailed twice for refusing to testify to a Grand Jury. I would be unsurprised if she is jailed again for the same reason if a third Grand Jury is convened.
I know that, but it's pretty obvious that she's really being targeted in an attempt to intimidate other potential whisteblowers. People in jail for contempt of court don't normally get kept in solitary confinement, or have the UN (inter alia) criticising the US for torture.
Re: Chelsea Manning to be freed
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:06 pm
by Pucksoppet
Bird on a Fire wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:33 pm
Pucksoppet wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:21 am
I think it is a bit more complicated than that.
She is in detention because she is refusing to testify to a Grand Jury. AFAIK that is 'contempt of court', so it is not directly because of the sentence she was serving, for violations of the Espionage Act, that was not pardoned but commuted by Obama.
She has been jailed twice for refusing to testify to a Grand Jury. I would be unsurprised if she is jailed again for the same reason if a third Grand Jury is convened.
I know that, but it's pretty obvious that she's really being targeted in an attempt to intimidate other potential whisteblowers. People in jail for contempt of court don't normally get kept in solitary confinement, or have the UN (inter alia) criticising the US for torture.
I wouldn't like to comment on the motive, but I agree it is clear that she is receiving arguably extraordinary treatment, which has the effect of discouraging whistleblowers.
The world needs far better means of protecting whistleblowers.
Re: Chelsea Manning to be freed
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2020 2:35 pm
by Bird on a Fire
A fundraiser has successfully raised her $250,000 court costs, which is something.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-chelsea ... ourt-fines
Re: Chelsea Manning to be freed
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2020 9:22 am
by plodder
That's brilliant.
Has there been any independent analysis on the impact of the leaks in terms of safety of service personnel, disruption to missions etc?
Obviously the stand-out was the video of the helicopter mowing down civilians, but there was much more data that wasn't so widely discussed.