Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison for breach of classified data
FORT MEADE — Bradley Manning, the US soldier convicted of the biggest breach of classified data in the nation’s history by providing files to WikiLeaks, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Wednesday.Judge Col Denise Lind, who last month found Manning guilty of 20 charges including espionage and theft, could have sentenced him to as many as 90 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for 60 years.He was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, a charge never before filed in a leak case.Manning, 25, will be dishonourably discharged from the US military and forfeit some pay, Judge Lind said. His rank would be reduced to private from private first class.Manning would be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence, which will be reduced by the time he has already served in prison plus 112 days.Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Centre for Justice, called the sentence “unprecedented” in its magnitude. ...
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