A U.S. judge has just ordered the immediate release of Chelsea Manning from jail in Virginia. According to Common Dreams, the immediate release of the U.S. Army whistleblower occurred less than 24 hours after Manning’s legal team disclosed that she was recovering in the hospital after attempting suicide in jail.
The only details released about her suicide attempt was by Dana Lawhorne, the Alexandria sheriff, who said: it “was handled appropriately by our professional staff and Ms. Manning is safe.”
She was scheduled to appear in court today, but the judge also ruled that that was no longer necessary.
Upon Manning’s release, Judge Anthony J Trenga wrote: “The court finds Ms. Manning’s appearance before the grand jury is no longer needed, in light of which her detention no longer serves any coercive purpose.”
During this past year, Manning has spent most of her time at the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center in Alexandria, Virginia. She had refused to testify about WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. She had already given her testimony to a trial back in 2013. According to BBC, she has accrued more than $250,000 (£198,000) in fines for refusing to co-operate with the inquiry. Her legal team had asked for these to be vacated, but the judge said they must be paid in full.
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