Chelsea Manning, the U.S. soldier who contributed to one of the largest leaks of classified information in U.S. history, walked free from prison on Wednesday, May 17.
Manning was an Army intelligence analyst who acted as a whistleblower feeding information to WikiLeaks, for which she got a 35-year prison sentence. She served seven years out of 35 and on Wednesday, she finally walked free.
Former President Barack Obama had commuted the remainder of her 35-year sentence back in January and on Wednesday, Manning walked free from the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, at roughly 3 a.m. EST.
Chelsea Manning Remains Active-Duty Soldier
Following her release, Manning will remain on active duty as an unpaid soldier, but will be eligible for health care and other benefits, according to USA Today.
"Pvt. Manning is statutorily entitled to medical care while on excess leave in an active duty status, pending final appellate review," said Army spokesman Dave Foster.
Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who is friends with Manning and also played a role in publishing leaks from famous whistleblower Edward Snowden, tells the BBC that Manning will likely face a number of challenges now that she's out of prison.
Greenwald explains that after top U.S. officials condemned, denounced and deemed Manning as a traitor, living in this country will be an uphill battle for the 29-year-old soldier. Nevertheless, Manning also received praise for revealing war crimes, triggering global reforms thanks to her disclosures.
Amnesty International Calling For Independent Investigation
Amnesty International, which heavily campaigned to free Manning, hailed the release while also highlighting that an investigation should still take place.
"While we celebrate her freedom, we will continue to call for an independent investigation into the potential human rights violations she exposed, and for protections to be put in place to ensure whistleblowers like Chelsea are never again subjected to such appalling treatment," says Amnesty International.
Back in 2013, Manning faced her conviction for stealing 750,000 files of documents and videos prior to handing them to WikiLeaks. The sentence sent her to prison on 20 counts, including violations of the Espionage Act.
Bradley Manning Turned Chelsea Manning
The soldier was actually born Bradley Manning, but revealed after being sentenced to prison that she always felt like a woman and wanted to live her life as Chelsea rather than Bradley. After the sentencing, Manning changed her name to Chelsea and identified herself as a transgender.
"For the first time, I can see a future for myself as Chelsea," Manning told the BBC last week, looking forward to her release.
Manning served those seven years out of her 35-year sentence in an all-male military prison, despite requests to be transferred to a civilian prison. At the same time, Manning was among the first members of the military to benefit from transgender health care under the new policy, and the first to get approval for gender reassignment surgery in military prison.
Since Manning will benefit from active duty status now that she's free, she will continue to benefit from medical care and other benefits pending final appellate review.
