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Supporters in more than 40 cities
take action for Bradley Manning
July
26, demonstrators marched and blocked the gates of
Ft. McNair, in Washington D.C., at the office of
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, Convening Authority
for WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning’s
trial. They carried a large painted version of the
van from the Collateral Murder video released by
Bradley Manning, a 30 foot U.S. Constitution bearing
a classified stamp, and both balloons and a 20-foot
banner inscribed with the message, “Maj. Gen.
Buchanan, Do the Right Thing. Free Bradley Manning.”
 The
event immediately followed closing arguments for the
guilt vs. innocence phase of Manning’s military
trial. July 27, activists in dozens of cities across
the world are rallying in solidarity with the Ft.
McNair protesters, as part of an International Day
of Action for Manning.
Campaign Organizer Emma Cape, with the Bradley
Manning Support Network, explained the significance
of the movement to support Manning: “It’s time we
reclaim the word ‘patriot.’ The kind of patriot we
need today is not someone who defends all of our
country’s history and actions, it’s someone willing
to stand up for our country’s future, taking risks
to ensure it’s a just one. Bradley Manning is such a
person.” Also speaking at the event were activists
from Yemen and Iraq, veterans who served in Iraq and
Vietnam, and a representative from the U.S. Peace
Memorial Foundation, which awarded Manning its 2013
Peace Prize.
Manning faces a potential life sentence for
releasing hundreds of thousands of classified
military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks
because he wanted to promote “debates, discussions
and reforms” of U.S. foreign policy. He has pled
guilty to mis-handling classified information, which
carries up to a 20-year sentence, but he faces life
in prison on charges of aiding the enemy, espionage,
computer fraud, and federal theft.
Maj.
Gen. Buchanan is the new commander for the Military
District of Washington, so he’s the Convening
Authority in Manning’s court martial. He will review
the case as soon as the trial concludes, and he has
the power to reduce any potential sentence Manning
receives. Supporters of Manning hope Maj. Gen.
Buchanan will take into consideration the numerous
deprivations of the young private’s due process
rights, including the fact that Manning was held in
torturous solitary confinement for nearly a year and
detained for three years before his trial began.
Military judge Col. Denise will deliver a final
verdict and the sentencing phase will begin, with
new witnesses, evidence, and arguments. (Global
Research)
Manning convicted on 19 of 21 charges - Acquitted of
aiding the enemy
July
30, U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was convicted of
19 charges, including espionage and theft, but
acquitted of aiding the enemy - the most serious
charge he faced.
The
military judge hearing the case, Army Col. Denise
Lind, deliberated for about 16 hours over three days
before reaching her decision in a case that drew
worldwide attention as supporters hailed Manning for
exposing the Army's conduct.
"We
won the battle, now we need to go win the war,"
David Coombs, Manning’s attorney said of the
sentencing phase which will begin shortly. "We're
not celebrating," the attorney said. "... His
sentence is all that really matters."
Manning faces up to 136 years in prison.
Wikileakes founder Julian Assange condemned the
ruling saying that the U.S. soldier, who prosecutors
claim supplied WikiLeaks with hundreds of thousands
of classified U.S. documents, did not receive a fair
trial and called for the verdict to be overturned.
"The
government kept Bradley Manning in a cage, stripped
him naked and isolated him in order to break him, an
act formally condemned by the United Nations Special
Rapporteur for torture. This was never a fair
trial," Assange said from inside the Ecuadorean
Embassy in London, his home for more than a year. (DPA/EFE/RT)
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