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New Zealand Allows Manning to Apply for Visa After Australia's Snub - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - New Zealand has allowed US whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who provided classified information to WikiLeaks and served seven years in prison for the offense, to apply for a visa for a speaking tour just as Australia sent out a notice of intention to deny her entry, The Guardian reported.
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On August 30, Manning's event organizer said she had been barred from entering Australia, whose government decided that she did not meet the character requirements set out in the country's Migration Act.

New Zealand has judged that Manning had not committed any crimes since her release from a US prison and was not likely to commit any while in the country, The Guardian reported, citing a visa assessment document.

READ MORE: N Zealand Opposition Calls to Ban 'Convicted Felon' Chelsea Manning From Country

Chelsea Manning to Be Barred from Australia Due to Criminal Record
Bradley Manning, a former US soldier, was given a 35-year prison term, but was released in May 2017 after the sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama three days before he left the White House.

The day after sentencing, Manning announced that she had had a female gender identity since childhood, expressing a wish to begin hormone replacement therapy and to adopt the name Chelsea.

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