A judge in the US orders the release of Chelsea Manning

• USA Manning, the 'trans' (and now free) face of Wikileaks

A federal judge in the United States ordered the release of former soldier Chelsea Manning, the first WikiLeaks source, on Thursday, determining that his testimony against Julian Assange is no longer necessary.

"Manning's appearance before a grand jury is no longer necessary. His arrest no longer serves any coercive purpose," said Judge Anthony J. Trenga, of the Eastern District of Virginia. Trenga also concluded the work of the grand jury in this investigation.

The judge's order comes with Manning, 32, hospitalized after trying to commit suicide on Wednesday in a Virginia state jail.

The former soldier had been incarcerated since last May for refusing to testify about the revelation of military and diplomatic secrets to WikiLeaks, and a hearing with Trenga was scheduled for Thursday.

Her lawyers insisted Wednesday, after the suicide attempt, that Manning has previously indicated that she will not betray her principles, even if there is a risk of harming herself.

Despite the release order, the judge upheld the fine of $ 256,000 (about 220,000 euros) for refusing to testify before the grand jury.

For his part, Assange is being held in the United Kingdom with an extradition request by the United States, where he is being investigated by a Virginia court for espionage.

The biggest leak in US history

Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, was responsible for the largest leak in the country's history, which consisted of thousands of classified documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as State Department cables, that was a setback for American diplomacy.

She was arrested in 2010 and sentenced to 35 years in prison, but was released in 2017 after receiving a presidential pardon that ex-president Barack Obama (2009-2017) decreed a few days before leaving office.

During his more than seven years in prison, Manning attempted suicide on several occasions, including two in 2016.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project