Chelsea Manning appeals 35-year WikiLeaks sentence
Chelsea Manning, the former US Army Private imprisoned for 35 years for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks, has appealed her sentence.
The soldier, previously known as Bradley Manning, was sent to a military detention centre after sending more than 700,000 secret documents to WikiLeaks in 2013.
Manning, 28, was convicted later that year of multiple charges including violation of the Espionage Act and theft, but cleared of aiding the enemy.
The former intelligence analyst's leak of hundreds of thousands of classified documents, mostly about the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, sparked a wide debate about government secrecy.
Manning, who was born male, transitioned to being a woman following her conviction which was upheld the following year.
Manning has now launched an appeal of her sentence, stating that it was overreaching.
"For what PFC Manning did, the punishment is grossly unfair and unprecedented", the appeal read.
"No whistleblower in American history has been sentenced this harshly.
"Throughout trial the prosecution portrayed PFC Manning as a traitor and accused her of placing American lives in danger, but nothing could be further from the truth".