Barack Obama has used his final days in the White House to allow high-profile whistleblower Chelsea Manning to be freed nearly 30 years early.
The 29-year-old former soldier, from Oklahoma, will be released on May 17 this year – instead of in 2045.
It was one of 209 sentences shortened by the outgoing president, while a further 64 people received pardons.
The clock is ticking RT @SaveManning: 17 Days Left 4 @POTUS to give @xychelsea #TimeServed https://t.co/xJDXFmtABU pic.twitter.com/gtckAl2NhR
— Aaron Swartz Day (@AaronSwartzDay) January 4, 2017
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy since 2012, has previously said he would agree to extradition if Manning was freed.
If Obama grants Manning clemency, Assange will agree to US prison in exchange — despite its clear unlawfulness https://t.co/MZU30S3Eia
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) September 15, 2016
Here’s a brief history of the whole affair.
Why is she in jail?
Intelligence analyst Manning – who was known as Bradley at the time – was arrested in Baghdad in 2010 for her part in one of the biggest data leaks in history.
She handed a huge cache of some 700,000 secret military documents to transparency group Wikileaks.
Particularly troubling was the first leak – a video dubbed “collateral murder” – which showed soldiers in a US helicopter spraying around a dozen civilians with bullets.
Other cables held reports of prisoner detention and details of civilian deaths, as well as the “GITMO Files”, which highlighted the cases of Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
After a two-month court martial in 2013, Manning was convicted on 20 charges and sentenced to 35 years – but was not charged with the most serious count of aiding the enemy.
She came out as transgender after her conviction, but was held at the male military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and reportedly attempted suicide twice last year.
Why was the sentence so severe?
Here’s a recap of Chelsea Manning’s journey:
2009: Served as an Army intelligence analyst in Iraq, identifying as Bradley Manning pic.twitter.com/q7QIqiycqI
— AJ+ (@ajplus) January 18, 2017
Her critics said releasing the flood of information put US lives at risk and gave America’s enemies insight into the superpower’s modus operandi.
It was claimed this could help terrorists evade capture, dodge spying methods, and could lead to US spies and soldiers being identified and killed.
John McCain said Obama’s decision to commute the sentence was “a grave mistake that I fear will encourage further acts of espionage”, while House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was “just outrageous”.
Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency as you exit the White House, please: free Chelsea Manning. You alone can save her life.
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 11, 2017
However, her supporters say Manning performed an invaluable public service by exposing the inner workings of the US military machine and unveiling its secret acts.
THANK YOU President Obama for commuting the prison sentence of Chelsea Manning!!! She will be released in May – instead of in 2045!! THANK U
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 17, 2017
Delighted to see #chelseamanning's sentence has been commuted. Obama has bravely recognised that love for your country can take many forms.
— GeorgeMonbiot (@GeorgeMonbiot) January 18, 2017
She wrote around the time of her arrest in 2010: “I want people to see the truth … regardless of who they are … because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”
What about Assange?
The Wikileaks founder, who has been self-exiled at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since 2012, has said he would face trial in the US if Manning was freed.
The Australian ex computer hacker took refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault charges.
Assange: "Thank you to everyone who campaigned for Chelsea Manning's clemency. Your courage & determination made the impossible possible."
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) January 17, 2017
He has called what happened to Manning a “show trial” and labelled the US a “secretive government at war with the public”.
His lawyer, Melinda Taylor, said: “Everything that he has said he’s standing by.”
What will happen to Edward Snowden?
.@BarackObama ??Earn that Nobel Peace Prize and pardon Edward Snowden and Chelsea (Bradley) Manning. It's the right — and just — thing to do. pic.twitter.com/FQJ985MSyj
— Richard van Abbe (@scribe12248) January 7, 2017
Edward Snowden’s name is inextricably bound up with those of Manning and Assange.
More than one million signatures were handed to the White House recently requesting he be pardoned – but the US contends Snowden has not gone before a court to account for his actions.
The NSA whistleblower fled to Russia three years ago after he revealed the vast web of secret surveillance methods the state could use to spy on citizens.
The world's top human rights groups just delivered over one million signatures to Obama. For once, I have no words. https://t.co/djIALHgYea pic.twitter.com/g23bp9g066
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 13, 2017
Last year, Obama told German newspaper Der Spiegel: “I can’t pardon somebody who hasn’t gone before a court and presented themselves.”
His predicament is similar to Manning’s, with opinion split between the simplistic hero-or-traitor choice.
Because of the scale of Snowden’s leaks, their real-world effects, for good or ill, are yet to be fully understood.
So Chelsea Manning 35-year sentence to be commuted. Awesome.
Next, a pardon for @Snowden too? @POTUS? Yeah?— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) January 17, 2017
Russia recently announced it had extended Snowden’s visa by two years, meaning he will likely stay in the country for the foreseeable future.
He tweeted after the Manning news broke: “Let it be said here in earnest, with good heart: Thanks, Obama.”