RICHMOND, Va. — A federal appeals court has rejected a bid by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to be released from jail for refusing to testify to a grand jury.

The unanimous decision issued Monday by the appellate court in Richmond rejects both Manning's argument that she was erroneously found in civil contempt and her request for bail while the contempt decision is litigated.

Manning has been jailed at the Alexandria Detention Center since March 8 after refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating Wikileaks.

Since her incarceration, criminal charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have been unsealed and U.S. officials have requested his extradition. Manning's lawyers argued that her testimony is unnecessary since Assange has already been charged.

Manning served seven years in a military prison for leaking a trove of documents to Wikileaks.