Dear Fight for the Future member,
I talked to Chelsea on the phone last night and got the news: even though she was convicted of all four of the ridiculous “charges” the military brought against her, but she was not sentenced to ANY solitary confinement.
That’s amazing.
Chelsea told me that nearly every prisoner that goes before one of these “disciplinary” boards gets at least some time in solitary confinement. Sh said that “absolutely and without a doubt” it was our petition, signed by more than 100,000 people like you, and the massive media coverage surrounding it, that stopped the Army using that form of torture on her.
Chelsea’s attorney at the ACLU agreed, telling The Guardian that “It was no doubt this support that kept [Chelsea] out of solitary confinement.”1
We did something incredible, and it’s worth celebrating. But Chelsea is still being harassed, and needs our ongoing support.
Right now, she’s being punished with 21 days of restrictions that will prevent her from using the prison library and going outside. And the “convictions” (for the LGBTQ reading materials, and expired toothpaste) will remain on her record, impacting her future chances at parole and greatly extending time before she can transition to minimum security custody.
So, we successfully protected her from the worst abuses. But we also know that she isn’t out of the woods yet.
We’ll keep in touch with Chelsea and keep you posted when she needs our support again.
In the meantime, if victories like this one mean a lot to you (and they do to us!) please consider donating. Protecting whistleblowers like Chelsea from abuse at the hands of governments is the kind of work we live for.
And beyond keeping Chelsea safe, we’d like to be doing more to support the courageous activism and writing she’s been doing from behind bars. But we won’t be able to do it without your help.
Click here to chip in $5 so we can protect and support Chelsea.
Thanks for all that you’ve done. I’m proud of us today.
– Evan at Fight for the Future
P.S. Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on the latest developments: https://www.twitter.com/fightfortheftr.
1. The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/aug/19/chelsea-manning-guilty-but-spared-solitary-confinement-for-contraband
Hey,
I just got word that Chelsea Manning, the whistleblower behind one of WikiLeaks most important releases, is being unfairly punished in prison and faces indefinite solitary confinement for ridiculously minor “charges” like possessing the issue of Vanity Fair with Caitlyn Jenner on the cover, and having a tube of toothpaste past its expiration date. The story only gets more absurd when you read the whole thing. Click here and sign the petition to keep Chelsea out of indefinite solitary confinement.
Please read on below, sign the petition, and then forward this email to everyone who will listen.
Thanks so much,
-Evan at FFTF
________________________________________
Dear Fight for the Future member,
A few weeks ago I got a phone call. An automated voice told me it was a call from a Military Correctional Facility, and was subject to monitoring.
I pressed zero to accept the call, and the next thing I knew I was talking to Chelsea Manning, the courageous whistleblower behind one of WikiLeaks most important releases, who exposed some of the U.S. government’s worst abuses.
I’d been following Chelsea’s case since her arrest, but hearing her voice on the phone was really something.
Prison walls dehumanize people behind bars, and talking to Chelsea on the phone was a powerful reminder that she is a real person. She’s younger than I am. She has a niece and a nephew who she has never met, because she’s serving a 35 year sentence for shedding light on the government’s crimes.
Now, Chelsea is being unfairly punished in prison, and she faces possible indefinite solitary confinement––a form of psychological torture––for minor “crimes” including having the Vanity Fair issue with Caitlyn Jenner on the cover and an expired tube of toothpaste in her cell.
It sounds like a joke, but it’s not. And when you read the whole story, it gets even worse.
Click here to learn more and sign the petition to stop the U.S. government from torturing Chelsea Manning with indefinite solitary confinement.
Whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden are a crucial part of a healthy democracy. When the government and the military are allowed to operate in the shadows, they never serve the interests of the general public.
Chelsea Manning shouldn’t be behind bars in the first place, but now the government is blatantly targeting her with this unfair punishment. Chelsea has been very active while in prison, speaking out through her twitter account about issues of government transparency, transgender rights, and the prison system. She’s been writing a regular column for The Guardian, and even wrote a bill to reform the Espionage Act and protect journalism.
These absurd charges against Chelsea, and the outrageous threat of indefinite solitary confinement, are clearly an attempt to silence her important voice and cut Chelsea off from the outside world. Click here to sign the petition to stop this injustice.
I talked to Chelsea today and she is as strong as ever. She wants people to know that what’s happening to her isn’t abnormal. Prisoners are mistreated in this way every day.
This isn’t just about Chelsea’s basic human rights, it’s about all of ours, and about the future of free speech. Please sign the petition and share this breaking news as far and wide as possible.
I can’t thank you enough.
For freedom,
-Evan at Fight for the Future
P.S. Here’s the direct link to the petition and full list of Chelsea’s new “charges,” which you can share anywhere: https://cms.fightforthefuture.org/chelsea
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On Saturday, June 
