A US military judge on Wednesday sentenced Army Private Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison for leaking hundreds and thousands of classified military documents and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, the anti-secrecy website.
The judge, Army Col. Denise lind, also ruled that Manning had been dishonorably discharged. From his previous rank of Apfc (Army Private First Class), the judge brought him down to the lowest rank of private. Manning had also been ordered to forfeit all pay. Judge lind, who last month found the 25-year-old Manning guilty of 20 charges including espionage, theft and illegal disclosure of sensitive secrets, could have sentenced him to as many as 90 years.
Prosecutors had sought 60 years for the man at the centre of what has been described as the biggest-ever leak of American secrets. Arguing that Manning had betrayed the Government, they took the stand that a severe sentence would deter others from resorting to such colossal leaks of sensitive national secrets. The prosecutors had also wanted him fined $100,000.