"I welcome President Obama's decision to commute the sentence of Ms. Chelsea Manning from 35 years to time served," Assange said in a statement sent to AFP by one of his lawyers. He said Manning should never have been convicted and described her as "a hero, whose bravery should have been applauded not condemned". Manning was convicted in August 2013 of espionage and other offenses after admitting to leaking 700,000 sensitive military and diplomatic classified documents to WikiLeaks. Earlier this month WikiLeaks said on Twitter that Assange would agree to US extradition if Obama were to grant Manning clemency. Washington has maintained the threat of prosecuting Assange over the 2010 leak, though no charges have been filed.

Source: The Nation Bangkok January 18, 2017 00:09 UTC