Bradley Manning Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison

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By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2013-08-21 14:22:12 UTC

Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Judge Col. Denise Lind announced the sentence around 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, almost three months after the beginning of the court martial and 1,294 days after Manning was arrested in Iraq for providing WikiLeaks with the thousands of secret documents that became the organization's most famous releases.

See also: Bradley Manning: 'I'm Sorry'

Manning had been acquitted of aiding the enemy, the most serious charge he faced, but was found guilty of 20 other charges including of espionage at the end of July.

Manning's lawyer David E. Coombs had asked the judge for leniency and for a sentence that "doesn't rob him of his youth," arguing that Manning's leaks didn't put the United States in danger. The prosecution asked for at least 60 years in prison, saying that a long sentence would serve as a deterrent for future leakers.

The maximum sentence, given the charges of which he has been found, was 90 years in prison.

The soldier will receive three years of credit for the time he has already spent in the brig, plus 112 days the judge awarded him for his illegal detention in solitary confinement.

Manning will be eligible for parole after serving one third of his sentence.

Image: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Topics: bradley manning, julian assange, U.S., US & World, whistleblowing, WikiLeaks, World