Chelsea Manning sent back to jail for refusing to testify

Former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning has been ordered back to jail for refusing to testify to a grand jury, even after telling a judge she'd rather "starve to death" than cooperate with prosecutors.

US District Judge Anthony Trenga ordered her to remain incarcerated at the Alexandria jail either until she agrees to testify or until the grand jury's term expires in 18 months. He also imposed fines that will kick in at USD 500 a day after 30 days and USD 1,000 a day after 60 days.

Manning already spent two months in jail for refusing a previous subpoena to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks. She was released last week when that grand jury's term expired, but prosecutors quickly hit her with a new subpoena to testify to a new grand jury.

Manning has offered multiple reasons for refusing to testify, but fundamentally says she considers the whole grand jury process to be unacceptable.

Trenga was unimpressed with her rationale and noted that grand juries are embedded in the Constitution.

He said he hopes that while incarcerated "Ms. Manning would reflect on the principles she says she's embracing ... and whether those views are worth the price she's paying for them."
"Whatever you might think of her, Chelsea Manning is a principled person," said her lawyer, Moira Meltzer-Cohen. "She's more willing to put herself at grave risk than to betray her deeply held principles."