Chelsea Manning files appeal against 'grossly unfair' 35-year prison sentence [View all]

[brooklynite]

Source: The Guardian

Chelsea Manning has formally appealed against her conviction and 35-year prison sentence for leaking a huge cache of government documents, arguing that her punishment was “grossly unfair and unprecedented”.

Describing the sentence as “perhaps the most unjust sentence in the history of the military justice system”, attorneys for Manning complained that she had been portrayed as a traitor to the US when “nothing could be further from the truth”.

“No whistleblower in American history has been sentenced this harshly,” states the appeal, which also alleges that Manning was excessively charged and illegally held while awaiting trial in conditions amounting to solitary confinement. It suggests that her sentence be reduced to 10 years.

The appeal sharply contrasts the government’s punishment of Manning with the two years probation given to David Petraeus, the retired military commander and CIA director, who admitted giving classified information to his biographer, with whom he was having an extramarital affair. While Manning was a whistleblower, Petraeus “apparently disclosed the materials for sex”, say Manning’s attorneys.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/19/chelsea-manning-files-appeal-against-conviction

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Isn't it a little late to appeal?