Washington, January 18 (RHC)-- U.S. President Barack Obama has commuted the sentence of Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning as part of more than 200 presidential commutations issued Tuesday. Chelsea Manning is now set to be freed on May 17th, after Obama shortened her sentence from 35 years to seven.
Attorneys for Manning say she is already the longest-held whistleblower in U.S. history. Manning leaked more than 700,000 classified files and videos to WikiLeaks about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. foreign policy.
Chelsea Manning has been subjected to long stretches of solitary confinement and denied medical treatment related to her gender identity. She attempted to commit suicide twice last year.
A major international campaign for her release from prison preceeded the White House announcement on Tuesday.