U.S. Army judge may hand down Manning's WikiLeaks sentence Wednesday

The judge in the court-martial of Bradley Manning, the soldier convicted of giving classified U.S. files to WikiLeaks, said on Tuesday she would sentence him on Wednesday morning at the earliest.

Judge Colonel Denise Lind gave her timetable for handing down a sentence in a brief court session as she began her deliberations on how long Manning should be in prison.

Manning, a 25-year-old private first class, faces up to 90 years behind bars for giving more than 700,000 classified files, battlefield videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, a pro-transparency website.

To be sentenced on Wednesday morning!

Manning, who was working as low-level intelligence analyst in Baghdad in 2010 when he handed over the documents, was convicted in July on 20 counts including espionage and theft. He was found not guilty on the most serious charge, aiding the enemy, which had carried a possible sentence of life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors on Monday argued for a minimum sentence of 60 years in prison. Defense lawyers have contended that Manning should get a lenient sentence, saying he was naive but well-intentioned.

Reuters

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US soldier Manning gets 35-year prison sentence in Wikileaks case

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 Colonel Denise Lind, who last month convicted Manning 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.

Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in Wikileaks case (image credit: GettyImages)

Manning, 25, will be dishonorably discharged from the U.S. military and forfeit some pay, Lind said. His rank will 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.

In 2010, Manning turned over more than 700,000 classified files, battlefield videos and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, the protransparency website, in a case that has commanded international attention. Defense attorneys had not made a specific sentencing request but pleaded with Lind not to "rob him of his youth."

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.

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

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

Reuters

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