Eyes turned to Assange as US commutes Manning sentence

LONDON

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange shows readiness for a U.S. extradition, after Chelsea Manning, has received a presidential pardon from U.S President Barack Obama.

Chelsea Manning, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after leaking classified military documents to whistleblower website WikiLeaks that were made public in 2010.

Manning will be released May 17, according to the White House after receiving presidential commute. She was serving a 35-year prison sentence that would not have seen her release until 2045.

Meanwhile, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has welcomed the decision.

“Your courage and determination made the impossible possible,” he said from the Wikileaks twitter account. Also in a statement, he demanded U.S. government to “immediately end its war on whistleblowers and publishers, such as WikiLeaks and myself.”

A lawyer of Assange Barry Pollock said also in a statement: “The Department of Justice should not pursue any charges against Mr Assange based on his publication of truthful information and should close its criminal investigation of him immediately.”

Last week on twitter WikiLeaks posted, "If Obama grants Manning clemency Assange will agree to US extradition despite clear unconstitutionality of DoJ case."

However, White House statement on the subject said that Manning's commutation offer is not linked to Assange. “I have no insight into Mr Assange’s travel plans. I can’t speak to any charges or potential charges he may be facing from the justice department,” The Guardian quoted a White House Official as saying.

Assange, 45, faces with an extradition ruling only by Sweden on sexual offense charges.

He took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in June 2012, after U.K. authorities granted a Swedish request to extradite him.

The move provoked a stalemate, with diplomatic rules preventing British police from entering the building and Assange has been unable to leave without facing arrest. He long feared an extradition to U.S. on espionage charges if he leaves the embassy.