Free Chelsea Manning | Amnesty International UK

I hope that you will continue supporting my fight for justice. My case impacts important issues that affect many, if not all, Americans. Chelsea Manning

Private Chelsea Manning was sentenced in 35 years in prison after she leaked classified US military information to WikiLeaks during 2009 and 2010 the biggest information leak in US military history.

Chelsea was found guilty of 22 offences; the most serious of which aiding and abetting the enemy is likely responsible for the harsh length of her sentence. During her trial she was banned from presenting her evidence or the motives behind her actions, including her claim that she was acting in the public interest in exposing military abuses.

Until her trial, Chelsea was known as Private Bradley Manning. She now identifies as a woman.

While stationed in Iraq between November 2009 and May 2010, US military analyst Chelsea obtained and distributed classified military information to the WikiLeaks website. She was arrested in May 2010 after a former computer hacker reported Chelsea to the FBI.

Chelsea says she acted with the intention of exposing potential human rights abuses by the US army and its allies, in order to open up informed public debate around American operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was never my intention to hurt anyone. I only wanted to help people. When I chose to disclose classified information, I did so out of a love for my country and a sense of duty to others. Chelsea Manning

Information leaked by Chelsea included details of potential human rights abuses, including a secret attack by a US Apache helicopter in Baghdad, in which US soldiers killed 12 people, including civilians. To date, there has been no independent and impartial investigation into this attack US authorities have focused on charging Chelsea, rather than investigating the content of material she drew attention to.

After her arrest, Chelsea was held for three years in pre-trial detention. She was kept in solitary confinement for eleven months of her pre-trial detention, in conditions that amount to torture, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

Chelsea was confined in a windowless six-metre cell for 23 hours a day, without personal possessions, bed sheets, and at times even her glasses. While she was seen as a suicide risk, Chelsea was only allowed to wear her boxer shorts in her cell, and was sometimes forced to go without even her underwear.

Link:
Free Chelsea Manning | Amnesty International UK