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Army Pfc. Bradley Manning acquitted of aiding the enemy, convicted of six counts of espionage

The 25-year-old WikiLeaker has been found guilty on 21 criminal counts against him, including theft, espionage and computer fraud. He will be sentenced Wednesday and faces up to 136 years in prison.

Updated: Tuesday, July 30, 2013, 7:24 PM
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 Manning faced charges including aiding the enemy, espionage, computer fraud and theft for admittedly sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents and some battlefield video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.

Patrick Semansky/AP

Manning  admitted to sending hundreds of thousands of classified documents and some battlefield video to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning has been acquitted of aiding the enemy in the WikiLeaks case, but was convicted of six counts of espionage.

It is welcome news for the former intelligence analyst, who was facing life in prison if convicted of the major charges. However, military judge Col. Denise Lind found the WikiLeaker guilty of many other of the 21 criminal counts against him, including theft, espionage and computer fraud.

RELATED: WIKILEAKS FOUNDER JULIAN ASSANGE SLAMS OBAMA 'DISGRACE'

The trial, which took place at Fort Meade, Md., has been played out on the world’s stage, with supporters in the hundreds of thousands hailing Manning as a whistleblower to corrupt military practices.

Those opposing Manning — including the U.S. government — labeled him as an anti-social hacker obsessed with attention, and pushed for the maximum punishment for what they called a deeply troubling national security breach.

Supporters of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning demonstrate Tuesday outside the main gate of Ft. Meade in Maryland.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Supporters of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning demonstrate Tuesday outside the main gate of Ft. Meade in Maryland.

RELATED: JUDGE WON’T DISMISS SERIOUS CHARGE IN CASE AGAINST WIKILEAKER BRADLEY MANNING

While aiding the enemy carried the harshest potential sentence of life in prison, Manning still faces as much as 136 years in prison for his crimes.

The private’s sentencing hearing begins Wednesday.

RELATED: BRADLEY MANNING TRIAL BEGINS 3 YEARS AFTER ARREST

The 25-year-old native of Crescent, Okla. admitted to sending 470,000 battlefield reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as video footage from a 2007 Apache helicopter attack that left nine dead, including a Reuters photographer and his driver.

Bradley Manning's defense attorney, David Coombs, and Coomb's wife, Tanya Monestier, arrive at court for the verdict.

GARY CAMERON/REUTERS

Bradley Manning's defense attorney, David Coombs, and Coomb's wife, Tanya Monestier, arrive at court for the verdict.

Prosecution in the intense two-month trial tried to paint Manning as a social deviant, intent on betraying America and leaving the country vulnerable to future attacks.

RELATED: DEFENSE IN WIKILEAKS TRIAL TO TAKE CENTER STAGE

They also claimed that former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden obtained some of the confidential documents before he was assassinated in 2011.

Manning's defense lawyer, David Coombs, argued that his client was not malicious, but rather a "young, naive but good-intentioned" soldier who was in emotional distress because of his sexual orientation. Manning enlisted before the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" toward gays was repealed.  

RELATED: MANNING BRACES FOR VERDICT IN WIKILEAKS CASE

A free Bradley Manning sign is seen during a demonstration outside the main gate of Ft. Meade on Tuesday.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

A free Bradley Manning sign is seen during a demonstration outside the main gate of Ft. Meade on Tuesday.

The case served as one of the most high-profile trials during the Obama administration, which has been criticized heavily for its treatment of whistleblowers and leakers, including NSA leaker Edward Snowden. 

Manning, working with Julian Assange-founded WikiLeaks, began siphoning material in 2010 detailing the military's documented abuse against Iraqi detainees and total civilian deaths in the war-torn country. 

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Assange, meanwhile, has taken up asylum with the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in order to dodge extradition to Sweden on unrelated charges. Experts and analysts also said that Tuesday’s ruling could hurt Assange’s vision to have more transparency between governments and those they govern, where whistleblowers could release useful classified information without fear of life in prison.

Assange, speaking from London, told reporters after the verdict that it was a “short-sighted judgement that cannot be tolerated.”

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is staying at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Grant/AP

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is staying at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden.

“This has never been a fair trial,” Assange said from the country’s Ecuadorean Embassy, adding, “The abuse of Bradley Manning has left the world with a sense of disgust.”

While the verdict visibly upset the WikiLeaks founder, Manning’s reaction was not as visceral. In court Tuesday, the Army private first class showed little emotion during the hearing.

Coombs could be seen smiling wanly as his client was acquitted of aiding the enemy.

Some experts and analysts echo Assange’s concern that Manning’s harsh punishment – possibly a life in prison – could deter whistleblowers, investigative journalists, and others from leaking secrets of corruption and wrongdoing.

“The message is that the government will go after you,” Michael Bochenek, the director of law and policy at Amnesty International, told Reuters.

With News Wire Services

bstebner@nydailynews.com

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