Chelsea Manning Ordered Back to Jail After Refusing to Testify about Assange, WikiLeaks
Shane Trejo
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Shortly after being released from jail for contempt of court, Chelsea Manning is going to be heading back after denying compliance with a grand jury subpoena, a U.S. attorney announced today.
Manning was previously incarcerated for 62 days, then was freed for eight days, and now will be going back to jail. News2Share reports that Manning will be fined $500 per day if she does not testify for 30 days and then the fines will be increased to $1000 per day after 60 days.
Manning remains steadfast that she will never testify and divulge any information that could be used against whistle-blower Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks organization. Assange was removed from the Ecuadorean embassy in Great Britain and is in the process of being extradited to the United States to face trial on a computer hacking charge.
“We are, of course, disappointed with today’s decision, but I suspect that this sanction of further incarceration will be exactly as coercive as the previous sanction,” said Manning’s counsel, Moira Meltzer-Cohen before noting that any coercion will not weaken her client’s resolve.
Manning was convicted of espionage and other charges after leaking sensitive information to WikiLeaks in 2010, exposing war crimes that were hidden from the public by the U.S. government and fake news media.
“It is telling that the United States has always been more concerned with the disclosure of those documents than with their damning substance,” Meltzer-Cohen said while addressing reporters.
After she left the stage, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Zach Terwilliger took the podium and addressed reporters. He started his comments with a non-sequitur, celebrating a hearing where dozens of foreigners became American citizens before speaking about Manning.
“Chelsea Manning has been lawfully subpoenaed to testify in an investigation. She’s also been given immunity to protect herself from self-incrimination, meaning she can speak freely. The only thing that is being asked of her is to come answer questions truthfully,” he said.
Terwilliger implied that Manning should be grateful due to her commutation and because of their empathy toward her transgenderism. He also promoted the role of law enforcement.
“My hope is that she will agree to do her duty as a citizen and come in and tell the truth,” he concluded.
Manning gave testimony to reporters before surrendering herself to authorities. It can be seen here:
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