Former military intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was freed from a U.S. jail on Thursday after two months in custody — but faces a possible return to the lockup as soon as next week, a support group said.
Ms. Manning was jailed in early March for refusing to testify in a grand jury investigation targeting the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.
A judge in March ruled Ms. Manning in contempt of court and ordered her held not as punishment but to force her testimony in the secret case, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in the Alexandria, Virginia federal court said at the time.
The support group, the Sparrow Project, said in Thursday’s statement that Ms. Manning was released following the expiry of the grand jury’s term. “Unfortunately, even prior to her release, Chelsea was served with another subpoena. This means she is expected to appear before a different grand jury, on Thursday, May 16,” Sparrow Project quoted Ms. Manning’s legal team as saying.
“It is therefore conceivable that she will once again be held in contempt of court,” and returned to jail, the legal team said. “Chelsea will continue to refuse to answer questions.”