Defense begins case in trial of Bradley Manning
Private First Class Bradley Manning’s trial, at Fort Meade, Maryland, is now is in its sixth week. The defense began its case this week, but it has been hamstrung in advance by military judge Colonel Denise Lind’s ruling that Manning’s political motives were irrelevant to case, which effectively denies the defendant any ability to mount a whistleblower defense. - Manning faces a long list of charges, including aiding the enemy under the Espionage Act, computer fraud and stealing government property. Manning has admitted to leaking hundreds of thousands of military intelligence files to WikiLeaks while serving in Iraq during 2009 and 2010, including clear evidence of war crimes. It was the largest such leak of classified documents in US history. The US government has filed 22 counts against Manning, for a maximum sentence of 149 years in military prison. The most severe charge, “aiding the enemy,” is a potential capital offense, but the government has said that it is not seeking the death penalty. The whole procedure is a travesty of justice against a political prisoner. The extensive pre-trail hearings and the trail itself have been characterized by high levels of secrecy. Many of the prosecution’s witnesses have testified anonymously, and courtroom access has been severely restricted. According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, Manning’s trial has been “more restrictive than military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay.”