EMAIL SIGN UP!
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Lawyers Condemn 'Abuse' of Suspected WikiLeaker Bradley Manning
American soldier's lawyers say holding him in maximum security and putting him on suicide watch breaches his rights
The lawyer for Bradley Manning, the army private suspected of leaking hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks, has filed a complaint that he is being unfairly treated at the marine base jail in Virginia.
David Coombs, Manning's lawyer, said that holding him in maximum custody over the last five months and placing him on suicide watch amounted to abuse. Coombs called for his removal from such tight monitoring.
The complaint was filed on Wednesday and on Thursday the marines downgraded his classification from suicide watch to prevention of injury. But Coombs argues that prevention of injury is not significantly different in practical terms and is seeking his removal from maximum security.
Coombs, writing on his office website, said that on Wednesday, against the recommendation of two forensic psychiatrists, the commander of the Quantico jail, James Averhart, listed Manning as a suicide risk, which meant he was confined to his cell 24 hours a day. "He was stripped of all clothing with the exception of his underwear. His prescription eyeglasses were taken away from him. He was forced to sit in essential blindness with the exception of the times that he was reading or given limited television privileges. During those times, his glasses were returned to him," Coombs wrote.
Manning, aged 23, who had been based in Iraq, was transferred to Quantico on July 29 last year. He is facing court-martial later this year and faces a heavy prison sentence if found guilty of leaking classified material.
Coombs said that the downgrading of Manning from suicide watch to prevention of injury does not make much practical difference and that he remains under close scrutiny.
The guards check him every five minutes during the day and Manning is required to respond, Coombs said. "At night, if the guards cannot see him clearly, because he has a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure that he is okay," Coombs said.
He is not allowed to do exercises in his cell, only during the one hour a day when he goes from his cell to an empty room with some gym equipment.
First Lieutenant Scott Villiard, a spokesman for Quantico, told the Washington Post: "The most important thing is that we're not treating Private Manning any differently from anyone else that would be in the same classification. Whether it's maximum custody or prevention of injury, he's being treated the same as anybody else."
There was "a responsibility to make sure that these detainees are safe, secure and make it to trial," Villiard said. Manning had been placed in maximum custody because, the authorities said, his escape could pose a risk to life, property or national security.
- Posted in
Comments
Note: Disqus 2012 is best viewed on an up to date browser. Click here for information. Instructions for how to sign up to comment can be viewed here. Our Comment Policy can be viewed here. Please follow the guidelines. Note to Readers: Spam Filter May Capture Legitimate Comments...
26 Comments so far
Show AllIn America you are guilty until proven innocent...this can happen to anyone defying the wishes of the state.
I agree....just as in the "Gulf Emirates", Kuwait, Saudi, Egypt, Jordan ,Israel, Libya,Algeria, Morocco,Iraq,Georgia, Afghanistan,Columbia,Mexico...the list goes on...
All Regimes under the US thumb.
Maybe the quarterly dividends make all this repression ok for Americans,
but puts "investors" in the dock as the perps in a crime against humanity.
This should be adequate evidence that a Democratic America no longer exists, and, has been replaced by repressive Fascism. This is a clear attempt to break Bradley Manning and through torture get him to admit to leaking the documents directly to Assange. Commanding Officers now appear to be nothing more than GOONS. Free men cannot accept what is happening to Manning as legitimate. It is not. END THE TORTURE NOW !
Hey, Obama, ever hear of Karma? Hopefuly, what ever you do to Manning or Assange comes back to you three fold! That would truly be justice!
Having had close relatives who served including long term in the military, I can say with confidence each service has its own correctional facilities and a case with a member of the army such as the case here ending up in a marine facility is really unprecedented and says to me it may well be that somebody at a higher level in the millitary has decided that simply by putting this fellow in a marine facility would likelly result in rougher treatment thatn would be the case at an army facility. Of the four major services army, navy, marines and air force, the air force would be on the opposite end of the spectrum. Thus noone wanting rough treatment for this fellow would want to send him to an air force facility, though any military facility would be hard on any kind of non conformity let alone this kind of outright dissent, but the marines have a name which they've for being the most harsh.
This fellow almost surely is being tortured to get some kind of phony confession out of him. The military is noted for its kangaroo court system of jusitce and especially for those down in the ranks who buck military convention and are the least bit non conformist.
.
AD
America's a farm. We are cattle. The farmers are big bank, big insurance, big farma, the military industrial complex and MEDIA CONTROL/AIPAC - the most powerful force on the farm. Private Manning is a head of cattle being disciplined. It's perfectly legal, and it is in the best interests of the farmers. Nothing will change that.
Private Manning is finished! He has given his life for America. He is a hero. Count him as MIA.
Milk them until they are dry, then they are just meat.
I'm mad as he and I cant take it any more!!!!!!!! F-it I'm moving to Holland.
"First Lieutenant Scott Villiard, a spokesman for Quantico, told the Washington Post: "The most important thing is that we're not treating Private Manning any differently from anyone else that would be in the same classification. Whether it's maximum custody or prevention of injury, he's being treated the same as anybody else.""
How many other people are being tortured like this in the US?! It sounds like he not being allowed to sleep more than five minutes at a time!
I'm voting for Manning in 2012.
A great deal of law has been written around the Nuremberg Rules. Others know far more about it than I. The Nuremberg Defense argues that a soldier is not responsible for war crimes ordered by a superior officer. Command Responsibility argues that the superior officer is responsible for war crimes he ordered and/or carried out. The question is: Is there a Nuremberg principle or rule that allows a soldier to refuse to carry out an illegal (war crimes) order? Or to expose what the soldier feels is a war crime? Cheney and Bush lied the U.S. into a war with Iraq, invading a non-belligerent foreign country, killing large numbers of that population; suspended habeas corpus; “legalized” torture; invented the contradictory and perhaps illegal term “illegal enemy combatant.” Bush/Cheney (Obama) covered up the truth to commit war crimes; Private Manning presumably revealed the truth to prevent or expose war crimes. Who is right? Can Manning argue some kind of Nuremberg principle in his own defense? Why not discuss this openly, in the media, in congress, on the Internet? As for the Quantico brig, Manning's form of detention is straight out torture, Soviet style. It suspect the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) may not prescribe such political personality destruction.
You are correct. They are torturing Manning. Sleep deprivation and solitary confinement are two of the worst tortures, they can lead to psychotic episodes. And denying him exercise is just more cruelty. This story shows the fascists who control US military policies for what they are--brutal thugs.
"Is there a Nuremberg principle or rule that allows a soldier to refuse to carry out an illegal (war crimes) order? Or to expose what the soldier feels is a war crime?"
Yes, there is a US military law that allows - actually requires - soldiers to do everything they can to stop war crimes or other illegal acts and orders. They have the right to refuse any illegal order.
The war on Iraq was illegal according to US and International law. Arguably, it is for this reason that Iraq war resister, Lt. Ehren Watada, was not convicted. His trial was deemed a mis-trial because the government did not want his defense - that the Iraq war was illegal - to be made public. Details of the trial would be reported and the US government saw only trouble in going forward with it.
The courts do NOT allow the use of international law, and even sometimes Constitutional law, when dealing with things of this nature. People who cross the lines at SoA, Oak Ridge, pouring blood on missile silos, are denied the real laws that actually show what their rights are.
FASCISM...welcome to it.
The wars may be illegal but unfortunately this cannot be a defense for Manning. He was carrying out common duties for which he swore under oath to fulfill as part of his responsibilities. Instead he choose without external influence to go against the established orders. If his conscience was so disturbed by what he was expected to do, he could have asked or demanded to be relieved of that responsibility. He then would have been free to make public his knowledge of illegalities. Others have done as much and more and are still free citizens. Manning attacked the institution with intent to do serious harm. There appears to be indications his act was motivated more by revenge than truth, justice and honor. As for his treatment at Quantico, I don't know how much of that claim is true. Military prison on a good day for far lessor crimes may be considered torture by most. Yet, there are strict and various guidelines on the treatment of prisoners based on the level of offense. There is no value in torturing him. However, punishment is an ongoing event.
He was stripped of all clothing with the exception of his underwear. His prescription eyeglasses were taken away from him = gross humiliation.
At night, if the guards cannot see him clearly, because he has a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure that he is okay = sleep deprivation.
They are driving him mad and these are the tortures we know about, sounds like Guantanamo to me. Good ol' USA
SMASH THE DICTATORSHIP OF THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL WELFARE BULLIES!!
There.
I said it...
Again.
i am sick of blaming, banks, corporations, republicans, democrates, this president and that president. they are all the same. they are scorpions on the back of turtles crossing the river. i put the blame on "WE THE PEOPLE"! the turtle knew he should not have trusted the scorpion. scorpions do what they do. the constitution says very clearly that, we are responsible to keep an eye on goverment and make sure it does not get out of control. there is no doubt (in my mind) the constitution implies less government. you folk know that, so i am preaching to the choir. how to get other people awake and to tell the scorpion "get off of my back", i do not know. but i am going to keep saying no, walking, talking truth, with dignity, till we go down in flames. if "we the people" had been doing our job, we would not be in iraq or afganistan, and private manning would not be in this predicament.
There is no national security when a person can be deprived of human rights without being charged.
You can go to www.bradleymanning.org and leave a message. There are a lot of people supporting him.
Maybe if they had a live feed of Mr. Mannning piped into Congress, then they would realize how inhumane this nation is.This is the video that the nation needs to see. Of course, that would be treating him like a lab rat, but we are, aren't we? With the medications, and constant annoyances, they are depriving him of his personhood and depriving this nation of any rule of law; they also seem intent on depriving him of his mind.
This is so awful. Do you really believe that this one man was able to get so much classified information by himself? Well, you are all fools, and if he did all that , then he is Superman, but since he's still in your cage, then I guess he's not. You are stuck on him because of that informant, and he has no credibility.
If Bradley Manning could do all of that on his own , then there is no security. It is criminal that you have declared, "we have our man," but I really doubt that. You just don't want to bother to look any where else, and looking within would give you all the answers that you need.
So, John Mccain, you once stood up against torture, why don't you speak up again? You are at a stage in your career, Mr. McCain that humanity demands that you leave a positive mark. So act!
I think the Administration would be afraid of a discussion about the Nuremberg Rules: that such a discussion might be read by members of the military. Somebody like Scott Horton of No Comment might be the right person to bring it up. But I think we need to talk about it over and over and over. There may be a kind of locker room credo in the military that over-rides discussions of ethics, Good Law, and doing what is right. Comparison with criminal German and Soviet practices might begin to penetrate dulled-down, exceptionalism locker room thinking.
France, Germany, England, China, Russia, Who wants a broken down, amoral, bankrupt newbie? Nobody? It's going cheap.
I remember when Bush [ the first] was visiting a Saudi Arabian dictator and knew that Americans were being tortured in their prison but did nothing about it. Now we have Obama who must know that Bradley Manning is being tortured in an American prison and he is doing nothing about it.
We must flood Obama's Office with phone calls, letters, petitions and emails and demand that Bradley be free on bail at least.
It seems that there is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty in America. We kill terrorist suspects with drones, imprison suspect Muslim U.S. citizens because they might do something in the future, and we are torturing a soldier, suspected of leaking documents. If this is the punishment of Manning while a suspect, what will they do to him if found guilty?
Be sure to write frequently, routinely, to Bradley Manning:
c/o Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave, #41
Oakland, CA 94610
Also write frequently, routinely, to President Obama and VP Baden to remind them that they have the power and the duty to immediately stop the torture of Bradley Manning:
President Obama (or VP Biden)
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500
The 8th Amendment of the US Constitution explicitly forbids "cruel and unusual punishment". Obama, Biden, and every Marine Corps officer have sworn an oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution. Furthermore, to physically or psychology damage Bradley Manning before his trial constitutes obstruction of justice. For a group like a Marine Corps unit or an administration to do this constitutes conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice.
Every time you wake up, shuffle into the kitchen, and begin brewing your morning cappuccino, think of Bradly Manning facing another day of (probably illegal, by UCMJ law) macho bullying in his solitary cell, denied any right to fair and quick justice, in Quantico. The real defendants in the case are those who had command over the attack helicopter in Iraq and the vigilante drones over any number of Middle Eastern sovereign countries. At the highest levels of command. The Nuremberg Rules absolve Manning of pulling back the curtain on war crimes committed in your name. He shames us all by refusing to accept the remote digital slaughter of people we don't know and don't understand, and who have families they love. Sip your cappuccino, surf your web, but write the President and tell him we are either a country of law and justice, or we are a military country, raging across the globe, pursuing incoherent and bullying policies, led by boy-men, without heart or brains, let alone vision.
Article 13 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
Punishment
"No person, while being held for trial, may be subjected to punishment or penalty other than arrest or confinement upon the charges pending against him, nor shall the arrest or confinement imposed upon him be any more rigorous than the circumstances required to insure his presence, but he may be subjected to minor punishment during that period for infractions of discipline."
The question: Is torture punishment?
Question: Is the Pentagon blurring the line between "infractions of discipline" i.e. Manning's actions before arrest, and "infractions of discipline" while under arrest? A convenient weaseling, if that is the attempt. But the law says "during that period," i.e. during imprisonment.
The commander supervising the imprisonment of Manning and the Commander in Chief and all observers should contemplate what it means to break the law by applying punishment (torture to destroy the personality) before trial.