Army general denies Chelsea Manning clemency over WikiLeaks case

An Army general upheld Private Chelsea Manning's 35-year prison sentence on Monday for turning over classified files to WikiLeaks.

With Major General Jeffrey S. Buchanan denying Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, clemency, the case will now go up to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals, reports Reuters.

When Manning sought leniency over her sentence, Manning also filed for a presidential appeal - the Obama administration has said they won't step in during the appeals process. Her defense lawyers argued that the release of nearly 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables was done for the good of the public and not for any nefarious reason.

According to The Associated Press, Nancy Hollander and Vincent Ward, Manning's appellate lawyers, said they believe that her prison sentence is egregious and the slow trial violated her rights.

On top of that, the two attorneys say they will argue that commanders influenced the ruling in her case, which resulted in Manning being convicted on 20 charges though she pleaded guilty to 10.

She was convicted of six violations of the Espionage Act and 14 other offenses . Hollander and Ward believe that the several charges were the result of the misuse of the EA.

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Army general denies Chelsea Manning clemency over WikiLeaks case