A US military judge has reduced the maximum sentence that WikiLeaks' source Private Bradley Manning could face from 136 to 90 years in prison, the army said.
Last week, Manning was found guilty of 20 of the 22 charges of spying and disobeying orders lodged against him, leaving the 25-year-old facing for than a century of confinement.
But at a sentencing hearing Tuesday, judge Colonel Denise Lind ruled that four groups of charges could be combined for sentencing purposes, reducing the potential maximum term.
The sentencing hearing is slated to last until August 23.
Manning was working as an intelligence analyst near Baghdad when he was arrested more than three years ago and accused of having handed the activist site WikiLeaks a large quantity of secret military logs and US diplomatic cables.
He was cleared of the most serious charge against him, that he had leaked the documents to knowingly help America's enemies, but could still spend the rest of life behind bars.
