Judge Orders Release of WikiLeaks Source Chelsea Manning From Prison After Suicide Attempt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. federal judge on Thursday ordered that former U.S. Army soldier and WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning should be immediately released from prison, where she was being held for refusing to testify in an ongoing U.S. investigation of WikiLeaks.

An entry in the U.S. District Court docket in Alexandria, Virginia, signed by Judge Anthony Trenga also rejected a request by Manning to cancel fines which he had imposed for her refusal to testify and ordered instead that a judgment be entered against her for $256,000, the total amount of accrued fines.

A detention hearing for Manning scheduled for Friday was canceled.

In a statement issued earlier in the week, Manning’s attorneys said their client had attempted suicide on Wednesday.

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“On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, Chelsea Manning attempted to take her own life. She was taken to a hospital and is currently recovering,” Manning’s attorneys said.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Sandra Maler. Pluralist contributed to this report.)