SUPPORTERS of imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning came together at the weekend to raise funds for her Pembrokeshire family.

The second Manning Truthfest brought together a mix of musicians, actors and activists for two nights of entertainment in Fishguard and Haverfordwest. (January 23-24). Live music was interspersed with readings from Chelsea's own words. Speaking in an interview with Amnesty International, she said: "Speaking out about injustices is worth the risk... in your life, you are rarely given the chance to really make a difference. Every now and then you do come across a significant choice. Do you really want to find yourself asking whether you could have done more 10 – 20 years later? These are the kind of questions I didn’t want to haunt me."

Performers included Welsh musicians from Caper Ceilidh band Polly Walker-Penn and Ant Rogers, and singer-songwriter Martyn Ashe who stepped in at short notice on the Friday night when the Irish musicians were delayed. The musicians from Ireland were Joe Black, RoJ Whelan, Paul O'Toole, Robbie Sinnott, Imogen Gunner and Miriam Barragry.

As well as celebrating the truth, the gigs were about raising money for the Private Manning Family Fund, which helps cover the cost of Chelsea’s family going to visit her in American jail.

In July 2013 Chelsea (born Bradley Manning) was found guilty of 20 charges relating to the release of classified information to the website WikiLeaks and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. Chelsea attended Tasker Milward School before joining the US Army, but her mother still lives in Haverfordwest and he aunty and uncle in Milford Haven.