From The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/manning-sentenced-for-leaking-government-secrets.html?hp
By CHARLIE SAVAGE and EMMARIE HUETTEMAN
Published: August 21, 2013
FORT MEADE, Md. — A military judge sentenced Pfc. Bradley Manning on Wednesday to 35 years in prison for providing more than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks, a gigantic leak that lifted the veil on American military and diplomatic activities around the world.
The sentence is the longest ever handed down in a case involving a leak of United States government information for the purpose of having the information reported to the public. Private Manning, 25, will be eligible for parole in about seven years, his lawyer said.
In a two-minute hearing on Wednesday morning, the judge, Army Col. Denise R. Lind, also said that Private Manning would be dishonorably discharged and reduced in rank from private first class to private, the lowest rank in the military. She said he would forfeit his pay but she did not impose a fine.
Before the sentencing, Private Manning sat leaning forward with his hands folded, whispering to his lawyer, David Coombs. His aunt and a cousin sat quietly behind him. When Colonel Lind read the sentence, Private Manning stood, showing no expression. He did not make a statement.
The materials that Private Manning gave to WikiLeaks included a video taken during an American helicopter attack in Baghdad in 2007 in which civilians were killed, including two journalists. He also gave WikiLeaks some 250,000 diplomatic cables, dossiers of detainees being imprisoned without trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and hundreds of thousands of incident reports from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Immediately after the judge left, military guards flanked Private Manning and hustled him out the front of the courtroom as a half-dozen supporters in the back of the courtroom shouted words of encouragement at him.
“We’ll keep fighting for you, Bradley,” one shouted. Another said “You are a hero.” After Private Manning left the room, another supporter yelled, “We love you.”
Several hours after the sentencing, Mr. Coombs told reporters that he would apply for a presidential pardon for Private Manning next week. At the White House, Josh Earnest, a spokesman, responded that Private Manning’s application would be considered “like any other application.”
Continue reading at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/manning-sentenced-for-leaking-government-secrets.html?hp
