US Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning has been released from the military prison at Ft. Leavenworth, where she served seven years of a 35-year sentence for sending classified diplomatic and military documents to the website WikiLeaks, Army spokesperson Ltc. Jennifer Johnson told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"I can confirm Manning has been released from The United States Disciplinary Barracks, Ft. Leavenworth," Johnson stated.
First steps of freedom!! 😄https://t.co/kPPWV5epwa#ChelseaIsFree pic.twitter.com/0R5pXqA1VN
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) May 17, 2017
In a statement last week, Manning said she looked forward to freedom, "after nearly seven years of bars and cement, of periods of solitary confinement, and of my health care and autonomy restricted."
Manning was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq, while serving in the US army. In August 2013, the whistleblower was sentenced to 35 years in prison for violating the US Espionage Act by leaking approximately 700,000 documents to WikiLeaks for publication online, in what later became known as the Afghan War Diary.
In January, then-US President Barack Obama commuted Manning's 35-year prison sentence.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Manning will remain on active duty in the US Army once she is free. Though she will be an unpaid soldier, she will still be eligible for health care and other benefits as a private in the Army.
