paroled

Days after the release of Chelsea Manning from the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, having served the longest sentence in US history for whistle-blowing, Sweden revoked its European arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange which has kept him within the confines of Ecuador’s London embassy compound, claiming asylum, fearful that appearing in court might lead to his apprehension and extradition back to the United States to face espionage and possibly treasons charges. While Assange has been hostelled in relative comfort by his hosts for the past five years and was even able to release further tranches of incriminating documents, Manning’s seven-year imprisonment was on the other hand physically and mentally abusive and she was denied access to the online world in any form. Her commutation by President Obama fell short of the pardon that Assange had asked for as a plea-bargain that might see him repatriated, but Assange may willingly come to the US if guaranteed a fair trial.