Chelsea Manning’s 35-year sentence, conviction upheld

Manning

An Army general has upheld Pfc. Chelsea Manning's conviction and 35-year prison sentence for giving reams of classified U.S. government information to the WikiLeaks website, the Army said Monday.

The approval by Maj. Gen. Jeffery S. Buchanan, commander of the Military District of Washington, clears the way for an automatic appeal to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

Manning's appellate lawyers, Nancy Hollander and Vincent Ward, told supporters Sunday in Washington that they expect to argue that the sentence is unreasonable. It is the longest prison term ever given by a U.S. court for leaking government secrets to the media. They said they also expect to argue that Manning's speedy trial rights were violated, that the Espionage Act was misused and that high-ranking commanders improperly influenced her case.

The 26-year-old Crescent, Okla., native is serving her sentence at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

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Chelsea Manning's 35-year sentence, conviction upheld