Birgitta Jonsdottir, the Icelandic MP and former WikiLeaks volunteer (Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images)
In Support of Bradley Manning, Icelandic MP Risks Arrest with Upcoming US Visit
'None of the people responsible for the war crimes' in WikiLeaks video has been held accountable, says MP
Despite the possibility of her arrest by U.S. authorities, an Icelandic MP known for her roll in the release of the "Collateral Murder" video put out by Wikileaks in 2010 has announced plans to travel to the United States to garner support for the alleged whistleblower Bradley Manning.
MP Birgitta Jonsdottir was part of the WikiLeaks team who helped prepare the video which contains military footage from a U.S. Apache helicopter as it gunned down innocent civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters journalist and two children.
The leaks led to the subsequent arrest and indefinite detention of Manning, who is currently undergoing a lengthy pre-trial hearing process for his alleged roll in releasing the video and other military and diplomatic documents.
The Guardian reports that Jonsdottir has been engaged in a two-year legal dispute with the U.S. Justice Department after it attempted to obtain her private information through the use of a subpoena requesting access to her personal data on Twitter.
In 2011, the U.S. ambassador to Iceland said that Jonsdottir would not be arrested if she traveled to the states.
However, she has now been advised by the Icelandic government not to go through with the trip, which has warned that a verbal assurance from a US diplomat is far from binding.
In response to the Icelandic government's pleas to cancel her trip, Jonsdottir told the Guardian:
I refuse to live in fear, and I don't want to live in the shadows. I don't think I've done anything illegal or that I'm an enemy of the US state, but if they think I've committed a crime, I want to know. [...]
I feel connected to Bradley Manning's fate through that video. [...]
It's deeply troubling to me that he is the only one suffering the consequences - none of the people responsible for the war crimes in the video have been held accountable. [...]
Jonsdottir's first trip to the U.S. since the leak is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2013 in New York to mark the third anniversary of the footage leak. Her trip will include a traveling exhibition of stills from the Collateral Murder video, including a tour across the US ahead of Manning's trial--scheduled to begin in June.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Despite the possibility of her arrest by U.S. authorities, an Icelandic MP known for her roll in the release of the "Collateral Murder" video put out by Wikileaks in 2010 has announced plans to travel to the United States to garner support for the alleged whistleblower Bradley Manning.
MP Birgitta Jonsdottir was part of the WikiLeaks team who helped prepare the video which contains military footage from a U.S. Apache helicopter as it gunned down innocent civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters journalist and two children.
The leaks led to the subsequent arrest and indefinite detention of Manning, who is currently undergoing a lengthy pre-trial hearing process for his alleged roll in releasing the video and other military and diplomatic documents.
The Guardian reports that Jonsdottir has been engaged in a two-year legal dispute with the U.S. Justice Department after it attempted to obtain her private information through the use of a subpoena requesting access to her personal data on Twitter.
In 2011, the U.S. ambassador to Iceland said that Jonsdottir would not be arrested if she traveled to the states.
However, she has now been advised by the Icelandic government not to go through with the trip, which has warned that a verbal assurance from a US diplomat is far from binding.
In response to the Icelandic government's pleas to cancel her trip, Jonsdottir told the Guardian:
I refuse to live in fear, and I don't want to live in the shadows. I don't think I've done anything illegal or that I'm an enemy of the US state, but if they think I've committed a crime, I want to know. [...]
I feel connected to Bradley Manning's fate through that video. [...]
It's deeply troubling to me that he is the only one suffering the consequences - none of the people responsible for the war crimes in the video have been held accountable. [...]
Jonsdottir's first trip to the U.S. since the leak is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2013 in New York to mark the third anniversary of the footage leak. Her trip will include a traveling exhibition of stills from the Collateral Murder video, including a tour across the US ahead of Manning's trial--scheduled to begin in June.
Despite the possibility of her arrest by U.S. authorities, an Icelandic MP known for her roll in the release of the "Collateral Murder" video put out by Wikileaks in 2010 has announced plans to travel to the United States to garner support for the alleged whistleblower Bradley Manning.
MP Birgitta Jonsdottir was part of the WikiLeaks team who helped prepare the video which contains military footage from a U.S. Apache helicopter as it gunned down innocent civilians in Iraq, including a Reuters journalist and two children.
The leaks led to the subsequent arrest and indefinite detention of Manning, who is currently undergoing a lengthy pre-trial hearing process for his alleged roll in releasing the video and other military and diplomatic documents.
The Guardian reports that Jonsdottir has been engaged in a two-year legal dispute with the U.S. Justice Department after it attempted to obtain her private information through the use of a subpoena requesting access to her personal data on Twitter.
In 2011, the U.S. ambassador to Iceland said that Jonsdottir would not be arrested if she traveled to the states.
However, she has now been advised by the Icelandic government not to go through with the trip, which has warned that a verbal assurance from a US diplomat is far from binding.
In response to the Icelandic government's pleas to cancel her trip, Jonsdottir told the Guardian:
I refuse to live in fear, and I don't want to live in the shadows. I don't think I've done anything illegal or that I'm an enemy of the US state, but if they think I've committed a crime, I want to know. [...]
I feel connected to Bradley Manning's fate through that video. [...]
It's deeply troubling to me that he is the only one suffering the consequences - none of the people responsible for the war crimes in the video have been held accountable. [...]
Jonsdottir's first trip to the U.S. since the leak is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2013 in New York to mark the third anniversary of the footage leak. Her trip will include a traveling exhibition of stills from the Collateral Murder video, including a tour across the US ahead of Manning's trial--scheduled to begin in June.