Most of the data shared by Manning was focused on the Middle East and Afghanistan as well as US military activities in the region. Here are the top five revelations that turned Manning into a human rights defender and transparency advocate, partly triggering the 2011 Arab Spring in the Middle Eastern countries.
1. Baghdad airstrikes and collateral murder
As result of the attack 12 people were killed and two children were seriously injured.
The way the two soldiers on the tape mockingly spoke about what happened was particularly shocking for the international community. One of the men said: "Hahaha. I hit 'em."
And another responded: "Oh yeah, look at those dead bastards."
2. Abu Omar abduction
Abu Omar — an Islamic cleric — was kidnapped by US officials in 2003 in Milan, Italy, over alleged links to fundamentalist networks. He was then transferred to Egypt, where the local authorities allegedly kept him in prison, interrogated and tortured him, until finally releasing him in April 2004.
Following Manning's leaks, it became known that the US government exerted pressure on Italian authorities forcing them to drop the investigation into the case. Washington threatened Italy with a drastic deterioration in bilateral relations if the country continued its inquiry into the case and issued arrest warrants for the CIA agents involved.
3. Release of diplomatic cables data and civilian deaths
Manning was also responsible for the "Cablegate" leak of 251,287 State Department cables leading to shocking revelations about civilian deaths resulting from US military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
For instance, one cable revealed that 66,081 civilian deaths had been logged out of a total of 109,000 deaths between 2004 and 2009. According to the leaked data, over 15,000 civilians had died in previously unknown incidents.
4. Guantanamo Bay files
Manning also helped publish hundreds of secret files relating to prisoners at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Afghanistan.
The data showed that over 150 innocent Afghan and Pakistani civilians were detained and abused for years without any charges. The youngest of the detainees was 14 years old, the eldest — 89.
5. Granai airstrike
In March 2010, Manning presumably shared footage with WikiLeaks of the Granai airstrike in Afghanistan conducted by the US armed forces.
The airstrike took place on May 4, 2009, in the village of Granai and claimed the lives of 86 to 147 Afghan civilians. However, the video has never been published and was later accidently destroyed.
