WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning has been released

WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas on Wednesday. Manning had been incarcerated since 2010 and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but was pardoned by President Obama.

The prison has confirmed to the BBC that Manning has left Fort Leavenworth. Manning should have been in prison until 2045, but in the final days of his presidency, Barack Obama pardoned the whistleblower, resulting in her early release.

In May 2010, US military intelligence analyst Bradley Manning was arrested in Iraq for passing military and diplomatic information to WikiLeaks. In total, more than 700,000 documents and videos were published by WikiLeaks. US authorities were tipped off about Manning by hacker Adrian Lamo.

Manning was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison for espionage, theft and computer fraud. There was no conviction for treason. After the conviction, Manning said she had always felt like a woman and decided to continue her life as Chelsea Manning. During her time in prison, the now 29-year-old Manning made two suicide attempts. In September 2016, after a hunger strike, she was allowed to undergo a sex change operation.