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.
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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.
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Supporters of U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley E. Manning demonstrate Tuesday outside the main gate of Ft. Meade in Maryland.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 Manning enlisted before the policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" toward gays was repealed.
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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.”
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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
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