Chelsea Manning was blocked from entering Canada

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning was barred from entering Canada last week, with the former U.S. Army intelligence analyst tweeting on Monday that the she intends to fight the decision in court.

Canada’s immigration department, in a letter, said that it considered Manning’s convictions to be akin to treason, which makes her ineligible to the country.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to comment on Monday, telling VICE News he would await “more details.”

Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, was responsible for leaking thousands of documents containing classified information, which were later published by WikiLeaks. Footage of deadly U.S. air strikes in Baghdad, and candid internal government documents on foreign leaders, embarrassed U.S. officials and stoked public debates about war crimes and government transparency.

She was charged with various offences under the Espionage Act in 2010 and sentenced to 35 years in a military prison before her sentence was commuted by outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama.

The whistleblower and transgender rights activist attempted to enter Canada at the St-Bernard-de-Lacolle border in Quebec on September 22 and was denied entry, according to a document from the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, posted by Manning on Twitter Monday morning.

The letter says Manning’s convictions under the Espionage Act would, if they had occurred in Canada, have constituted treason.

“Will be challenging denial of entry at Canadian ‘admissibility hearing’ in the future,” Manning wrote on twitter. She has not respond to interview requests from VICE News.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was “not going to comment on any specific case” when asked on Monday about Manning being denied entry into Canada.

“I look forward to seeing more details about this,” Trudeau told VICE News at a press conference.

Some analysts have hailed Manning as an icon for raising awareness of the U.S. drone warfare program, amongst other issues. Others say her leaks were reckless and may have led to deaths. U.S. President Donald Trump has called her a traitor.

In Canada, the minister of public safety has the authority to override orders like the one issued to Manning. However, Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters on Monday: “No such request has been made to me with respect to that matter.”

Manning is not the first political figure to be banned from Canada. In 2009, then-Immigration Minister Jason Kenney barred U.K. politician George Galloway from Canada after he donated humanitarian supplies to the Palestinian group Hamas which Ottawa considers a terrorist organization.