Bradley Manning

By Camille Elhassani in Americas on December 21st, 2011
Photo by Reuters

Six days into the hearing on whether or not PFC Bradley Manning should be put on trial for allegedly leaking classified information to the whistleblower website Wikileaks, the prosecution and defence have rested. 

The US government spent four days calling 20 witnesses.  The defence:  35 minutes. They requested 48 witnesses, but the investigating officer only allowed the 10 that were on the government’s list plus two more. Both witnesses worked with Manning in Iraq when he was an intelligence analyst on the night shift in December 2009. 

By Camille Elhassani in Americas on December 19th, 2011
Photo: Reuters

Computer forensics testimony dominated the fourth day in the hearing to determine whether Army PFC Bradley Manning’s case should go to trial. Manning is the alleged source of the 251,887 US diplomatic cables published by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.  

By Camille Elhassani in Americas on December 17th, 2011
Photo: Reuters

After a year and a half in US custody, the military hearing into the case of Army PFC Bradley Manning, who allegedly leaked documents to WikiLeaks, has begun.  Manning faces 22 charges of violating the military code, ranging from theft of records to aiding the enemy.  

The military says it won’t seek the death penalty, but Manning faces life in prison. 

The hearing is a military proceeding akin to a grand jury, where an investigating officer will hear evidence and decide whether or not to refer the charges for a trial.  Manning is being represented by two military lawyers and a civilian attorney. 

The hearing at Fort George Meade outside Washington DC began with the Investigative Officer, Army Reserve Lt. Col Paul Almanza asking Manning if he had copies of the charging documents and if he was satisfied with his lawyers, to which he answered "Yes".

By Monica Villamizar in Americas on March 13th, 2011
Adrian Lamo [Al Jazeera]
By Kristen Saloomey in Americas on December 19th, 2010
Photo by EPA

While the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, fights his legal battles in front of the cameras (or from the palatial estate in Britain where he is under "house arrest") the American soldier accused of releasing secret US government documents to him remains hidden from public view. Army Private Bradley Manning has spent seven months in solitary confinement in a military prison in Virginia, waiting for his day in court.

I recently travelled to Manning's hometown of Crescent Oklahoma, to try to get a sense of who he is and where he came from.

I also spoke by e-mail with David House, who describes himself as a Boston-based computer researcher and friend of Manning. According to House, the conditions of Manning’s confinement are starting to take their toll. He also says a lot of Manning’s supporters are being harassed by the authorities.

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