Manning said eligible for parole in 7 years, despite sentence [UPDATE] FORT MEADE, Md., Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Army Pfc. Bradley Manning will be eligible for parole in seven years, despite being sentenced to 35 years, his lawyer said Wednesday. Manning was sentenced Wednesday to 3 1/2 decades behind bars for giving more than 700,000 secret U.S. files to WikiLeaks. The sentence was considerably less than the 60 years sought by prosecutors, but more than the 25-year sentence sought by defense lawyers. Defense attorney David Coombs, speaking to reporters after the sentence, said in "any sentence of more than 30 years, the individual will be eligible for parole after 10." With credit for time served, parole could come in seven years, he said. Sometimes calling his client "Brad," Coombs said, "I do believe he's the type of person who couldn't live with himself if he didn't do something" about the confidential files that sometimes embarrassed the United States and its allies, and revealed secret military information. Coombs said statements by President Obama were not grounds for an appeal, but, "I do think those statements had an impact." Earlier in the case, Obama said, "We are a nation of laws. We don't let individuals make decisions about how the law operates. He [Manning] broke the law. Coombs also objected to Manning's dishonorable discharge. "I can see a bad conduct discharge, but not a dishonorable," he said. Bradley Manning is a man of honor. Army Col. Denise Lind, the military judge in the Fort Meade, Md., courtroom, sentenced Manning to a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and benefits in addition to the prison term. There initially was no audible reaction to the sentence from the 45 people allowed in the courtroom, and Manning exhibited no visible reaction to the sentence, NBC News reported. Guards quickly moved Manning from the courtroom as Lind left and supporters began yelling: "You're our hero!" and "We'll keep fighting for you, Bradley!" NBC reported. Defense attorney David Coombs asked Lind to be lenient and allow Manning a chance to rehabilitate himself. Coombs said the leaks, however large, had not been proved to be a long-term threat to U.S. security. An appeal after that would go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, composed of five civilian judges appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The disclosures were the largest set of restricted documents ever leaked to the public -- much of it published by WikiLeaks or its media partners from April to November 2010.