SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Isn't it clear that Canadians, like Americans, would benefit from engaging her in discussion and debate?" asked free speech attorney Jameel Jaffer in response to the ban. (Photo: @xychelsea/Instagram)
Chelsea Manning, Whistleblower Who Exposed US War Crimes, Barred from Canada
Civil libertarians slammed the Canadian government, arguing that "obviously Chelsea Manning doesn't present any danger to Canada's security."
Sep 26, 2017
Arguing that she is "inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality for having been convicted of an offense outside Canada," the Canadian government appears to have "permanently banned" whistleblower Chelsea Manning from entering the country--a discovery that prompted outrage from civil libertarians after it was reported Monday by The Intercept.
"A key political fact in the West: war criminals are never punished; only those who expose them are."
-- Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
"Obviously Chelsea Manning doesn't present any danger to Canada's security," Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told The Intercept in response to the news. "And isn't it clear that Canadians, like Americans, would benefit from engaging her in discussion and debate?"
Manning found out about the ban at a New York-Quebec border, BBC News reports, and she posted a letter she received from Canadian immigration officials on Twitter.
The letter notes that "if committed in Canada [Manning's] offense would equate to an indictable offense, namely Treason described under section 46(2)(B) of the Criminal Code of Canada, punishable under section 47(2)(C) of the Criminal Code of Canada, for which a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment may be imposed."
Minutes after posting the Canadian government's letter, Manning vowed to challenge the denial of entry, but noted that no court date has been set.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 after she was convicted of espionage by a military court for leaking U.S. military and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks.
After seven years of jail time--including long stints in solitary confinement--Manning's sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama, and she was released in May.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the ban on Monday, but declined to comment.
Glenn Greenwald, co-founding editor at The Intercept, argued that Canada's decision to bar Manning from entering the country reveals a fundamental and uncomfortable fact about the treatment of whistleblowers, in contrast to the treatment of those whose crimes they expose.
"A key political fact in the West: war criminals are never punished; only those who expose them are," Greenwald wrote on Twitter.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Arguing that she is "inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality for having been convicted of an offense outside Canada," the Canadian government appears to have "permanently banned" whistleblower Chelsea Manning from entering the country--a discovery that prompted outrage from civil libertarians after it was reported Monday by The Intercept.
"A key political fact in the West: war criminals are never punished; only those who expose them are."
-- Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
"Obviously Chelsea Manning doesn't present any danger to Canada's security," Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told The Intercept in response to the news. "And isn't it clear that Canadians, like Americans, would benefit from engaging her in discussion and debate?"
Manning found out about the ban at a New York-Quebec border, BBC News reports, and she posted a letter she received from Canadian immigration officials on Twitter.
The letter notes that "if committed in Canada [Manning's] offense would equate to an indictable offense, namely Treason described under section 46(2)(B) of the Criminal Code of Canada, punishable under section 47(2)(C) of the Criminal Code of Canada, for which a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment may be imposed."
Minutes after posting the Canadian government's letter, Manning vowed to challenge the denial of entry, but noted that no court date has been set.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 after she was convicted of espionage by a military court for leaking U.S. military and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks.
After seven years of jail time--including long stints in solitary confinement--Manning's sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama, and she was released in May.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the ban on Monday, but declined to comment.
Glenn Greenwald, co-founding editor at The Intercept, argued that Canada's decision to bar Manning from entering the country reveals a fundamental and uncomfortable fact about the treatment of whistleblowers, in contrast to the treatment of those whose crimes they expose.
"A key political fact in the West: war criminals are never punished; only those who expose them are," Greenwald wrote on Twitter.
Arguing that she is "inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality for having been convicted of an offense outside Canada," the Canadian government appears to have "permanently banned" whistleblower Chelsea Manning from entering the country--a discovery that prompted outrage from civil libertarians after it was reported Monday by The Intercept.
"A key political fact in the West: war criminals are never punished; only those who expose them are."
-- Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
"Obviously Chelsea Manning doesn't present any danger to Canada's security," Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told The Intercept in response to the news. "And isn't it clear that Canadians, like Americans, would benefit from engaging her in discussion and debate?"
Manning found out about the ban at a New York-Quebec border, BBC News reports, and she posted a letter she received from Canadian immigration officials on Twitter.
The letter notes that "if committed in Canada [Manning's] offense would equate to an indictable offense, namely Treason described under section 46(2)(B) of the Criminal Code of Canada, punishable under section 47(2)(C) of the Criminal Code of Canada, for which a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment may be imposed."
Minutes after posting the Canadian government's letter, Manning vowed to challenge the denial of entry, but noted that no court date has been set.
Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013 after she was convicted of espionage by a military court for leaking U.S. military and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks.
After seven years of jail time--including long stints in solitary confinement--Manning's sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama, and she was released in May.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the ban on Monday, but declined to comment.
Glenn Greenwald, co-founding editor at The Intercept, argued that Canada's decision to bar Manning from entering the country reveals a fundamental and uncomfortable fact about the treatment of whistleblowers, in contrast to the treatment of those whose crimes they expose.
"A key political fact in the West: war criminals are never punished; only those who expose them are," Greenwald wrote on Twitter.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.