US soldier responsible for leaking classified data to be discharged

US Army soldier Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Wednesday for providing secret files to the pro-transparency website WikiLeaks in the biggest breach of classified data in US history.

Judge Colonel Denise Lind, who last month convicted him of 20 charges including espionage and theft, could have sentenced him to as many as 90 years in prison.

As Manning stood ashen-faced, Lind said: "Your are sentenced to 35 years and ordered to be dishonorably discharged."

The 25-year-old private first class had turned over more than 700,000 classified files, battlefield videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, in a case that has commanded international attention since 2010.

Manning will be dishonorably discharged from the US military and forfeit some of his pay, Lind said.

Military prisoners can earn up to 120 days a year off their sentence for good behavior and job performance, but they must serve at least one-third of any prison sentence before they can become eligible for parole.

Prosecutors had asked for at least a 60-year prison sentence, saying it would dissuade other soldiers from following in Manning's footsteps. The defense had suggested a prison term of no more than 25 years so that Manning could rebuild his life.

Manning was working as a low-level intelligence analyst in Baghdad when he handed over the documents, catapulting WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, into the international spotlight.

In July, Lind found Manning guilty for espionage and theft, but not of aiding the enemy, the most serious charge, which carried a possible sentence of life in prison without parole.

The classified material that shocked many around the world included a 2007 gunsight video of a US Apache helicopter firing at suspected insurgents in Baghdad. Among the dozen fatalities were two Reuters news staff, and WikiLeaks dubbed the footage "Collateral Murder".

The case highlighted the difficulty of keeping secrets in the Internet age. It raised strong passions on the part of the US government, which said Manning had put US citizens' lives at risk, and anti-secrecy advocates, who maintained Manning was justified in releasing the information.

Broader debate

A US rights group has said Manning should be a candidate for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

Manning's trial at Fort Meade, Maryland, home of the ultra-secret National Security Agency, is winding down as the US continues to seek the return of Edward Snowden.

Manning's defense argued that his aim had been to spark a broader debate on the role of the US military and make US citizens aware of the nature of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to defense testimony, military supervisors ignored erratic behavior on the part of Manning, which included trying to grab a gun during a counseling session.

Defense attorneys had argued that such actions demonstrated that the slightly built Manning, who is gay and was increasingly isolated while deployed to Iraq, had not been fit for duty overseas.

During a pretrial hearing, Lind reduced Manning's sentence by 112 days because of harsh treatment after his arrest in 2010. He likely will be imprisoned at the US Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Manning pleaded guilty to lesser charges earlier this year, but military prosecutors continued their efforts to convict him on more serious counts.

Last week, Manning apologized to the court for what he had done.

"I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people. I understand I must pay a price for my decisions," he said.

The Bradley Manning Support Network, a group backing the soldier, said in a statement it plans to seek clemency from Army officials. Manning's attorney David Coombs also will ask for a pardon from US President Barack Obama, it said.

Reuters-AfP-AP

(China Daily 08/22/2013 page10)