Chelsea Manning speaks to reporters outside the U.S. federal courthouse before appearing before a federal judge regarding a federal grand jury investigation of WikiLeaks in Alexandria . Photo courtesy of Telesur
NEW YORK, May 17 (NNN-TELESUR) – If she does not comply within 30 days, she’ll also be fined $500 per day, rising to $1,000 per day after 60 days.
A U.S. judge Thursday found former U.S. soldier and WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning in contempt of court for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury and ordered her back to jail, a law enforcement official said.
U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga ordered Manning jailed Thursday finding her in civil contempt for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia.
According to Buzzfeed news, the judge made his decision based on the idea that more jail time could persuade her despite Manning’s pledge not to cooperate.
Manning had been released on May 9 after the term expired on a previous grand jury which had jailed her for contempt on March 8 for refusing to testify about the documents she provided to WikiLeaks in 2010.
The purpose of the grand jury is believed to be related to the government’s long-running investigation into WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.
Judge Trenga also ruled that if Manning does not comply with the grand jury subpoena after 30 days she will be fined $500 a day, the official said. The fine would go up to $1,000 a day if she continues to refuse to testify after 60 days, according to the official.
Manning told the judge she would rather “starve to death” than change her mind about testifying.”
Manning was convicted by court-martial in 2013 of espionage and other offenses for furnishing more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to WikiLeaks while she was an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama, in his final days in office, commuted the final 28 years of Manning’s 35-year sentence.
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