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US MILITARY WHISTLEBLOWER Chelsea Manning has been ordered to return to jail for refusing to testify in a case involving WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
A spokesman for Manning’s legal team said the former intelligence analyst had been remanded in custody by Judge Anthony Trenga for contempt of court after again refusing to provide testimony.
Manning, who spent seven years in military prisons for leaking US secrets to WikiLeaks in 2010 and then two more months in a Virginia jail this year on contempt charges, said before the hearing that she would refuse to testify again.
“I’m not going to comply with this grand jury,” she told journalists outside the Alexandria courthouse before today’s hearing.
According to The Washington Post, US District Court Judge Trenga sent Manning back to jail.
He also ordered a fine of $500 a day if she does not testify within 30 days, raising that to $1,000 a day if she does not testify within 60 days.
The newspaper quoted Manning as saying “the government cannot build a prison bad enough, cannot create a system worse than the idea that I would ever change my principles”.
She added: “I would rather starve to death than to change my opinions in this regard. I mean that quite literally.”
‘I got out’
The judge reportedly responded by telling Manning there was nothing dishonourable in discharging her responsibility as a US citizen.
Manning has accused the government of seeking to revive her original court martial case, saying prosecutors were unhappy over her 2017 pardon by president Barack Obama.
“The goal here is really to relitigate the court martial,” Manning said before the hearing. “They didn’t like the outcome: I got out.”
The 31 year-old was called early this year to testify to a grand jury – a panel investigating major crimes that operates in secrecy – about her work with Assange and WikiLeaks nine years ago.
But she said that the government was abusing the grand jury process and refused to testify, saying she had answered all the questions years before.
A judge found her in contempt and on 8 March and she was jailed indefinitely, before being released last week when the grand jury’s mandate expired.
Manning, whom supporters call a whistleblower, said the new grand jury case is meaningless since the Justice Department already unveiled its charges against Assange.
“The case doesn’t make sense, it’s very bananas,” she said. “Ultimately this is an attempt to place me back into confinement.”
With reporting from - © AFP 2019
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Welcome to the 21st century!!! PASSPORT OFFICE
@Ronan Mc Namara: don’t be stupid the passport office has been providing an amazing online service for years. One of the best in the world in fact. 100% virtual applications process. They still have to be printed though and this is a more manual service which likely impacted.
@Ronan Mc Namara: learn to read honey…this article is about online applications only…
@Paul Quirke: What school did you go too?
Applications received from it are not being processed in real time but rather set aside in a queue until whenever the office reopens.
Blind leading the blind in that office.
Sure it’s a world class system…Jesus wept!!
@Ronan Mc Namara:
I renewed my passport online and I got it in 5 days while Brexit was happening. Excellent Service.
@Just Some Guy: Fair enough……but not for the last few months. Excellent Service…………….Jesus wept!
At present, no new applications for new or renewed passports are being taken either over the phone or by mail, as the coronavirus crisis has affected production of the documents themselves.
@Ronan Mc Namara: why?
The passport online system does not entail customer contact, processing can quite easily be organised with safe distancing, & actual printing, binding, & posting similarly, on a shift basis to mert demand.
Its a good revenue earner as well, so why would staff be redeployed, when lits of other public service personnel remain disengaged entirely, on full pay.
The senior heads have serious questions to answer, both in the civil srrvice & local authorities, as to why so many units closed up.
If they are not rated as essential services, then why re open them again?
@William Kelly: I agree William beggars belief….. they could not wait to closed the doors….very shoddy service.
While the Passport Office’s online renewal system is still live, applications received from it are not being processed in real time but rather set aside in a queue until whenever the office reopens.
@Ronan Mc Namara: not correct, the blank passport booklet are done in bulk order from the secure printing company contracted by the government and are stockpiled with emergency reserves. Even in the the UK although they recently changed to blue passports, red passports are still being issued as they are trying to get rid of them to make sure they have sufficiently stockpiled the new blue ones.
@Ronan Mc Namara: you also have to remember Ireland have Passport Cards, so if in the unlikely situation passport books where in fact short supply, it would be easy enough to issue the cards standalone to those applicants who only plan to travel to another EU country or just wanting a passport for the purpose of proving their ID, reserving the booklets for those who need to travel outside of the EU.
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