US: Manning released but sentenced to new grand jury | USA News



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Chelsea Manning, an old US A military intelligence analyst, detained for refusing to testify before a grand jury, was released and immediately summoned before a new grand jury, according to her lawyers.

Manning was released Thursday after the expiry of the previous grand jury's warrant in Virginia who was seeking his testimony as part of what is believed to be the government's long investigation on the anti-secret website WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange.

She was simultaneously summoned to appear before another grand jury on May 16, which means that she could be sentenced again for contempt of court for refusing to testify and be sent back to prison, her lawyers said in a statement. communicated.

Manning appeared before the grand jury in early March, but refused to answer questions.

She was sentenced to 62 days in jail for contempt of court. A US court of appeal rejected her bail application and upheld the lower court's decision to condemn her for contempt for refusing to testify.

"Chelsea will continue to refuse to answer questions and will use all available legal defenses to prove to District Judge (Anthony) Trenga that she had valid reasons for her refusal to testify," the statement said.

It is unclear why federal prosecutors want Manning to testify, although her officials say the questions she was asked relate to the disclosure of information that she disclosed to the public in 2010 via WikiLeaks.

Manning was found guilty of spying and other offenses by a court martial in 2013 for disclosing over 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to WikiLeaks while she was was an intelligence analyst in Iraq.

She spent nearly seven years in prison before former US President Barack Obama, in his last days in office, commuted the last 28 years of Manning's 35-year sentence. She was published in May 2017.

Earlier this week, Manning's lawyers filed court documents claiming that she should not be convicted of civil contempt because she proved she was angry at her. his principles and would not testify, no matter how long he was incarcerated.

Federal law allows for the incarceration of a recalcitrant witness for civil contempt only if there is a chance that the incarceration will compel the witness to testify. If a judge were to determine that Manning's incarceration was punitive rather than coercive, Manning would not be imprisoned.

"At this point, given the sacrifices she has already made, her strong tenets, her strong and growing support community, and the shame accompanying her surrender, it is inconceivable that Chelsea Manning ever changes her mind to about his refusal to cooperate with the grand jury, "wrote his lawyer.

Manning filed an eight-page statement with the court Monday, highlighting his resolution. She wrote that "cooperation with this grand jury is simply not an option, it would mean giving up all my principles, achievements, sacrifices and erasing decades of my reputation – an obvious impossibility," she said. she writes.

She also reported disproportionately suffering in prison because of physical problems related to inadequate follow-up care following a sexual conversion surgery.

After nearly seven years spent in Assange's assassination in his embassy in London, Ecuador, on April 11, he ended his protection and was arrested by the British police.

The United States is seeking extradition to face charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. Assange plans to fight the extradition request of the United States.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

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