SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"We have a unique responsibility to protect those that have the courage to come out and say when something is wrong, regardless of the administration," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). (Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
'Solitary Confinement Is Torture': Ocasio-Cortez Calls for Chelsea Manning's Release
"Chelsea is being tortured for whistleblowing, she should be released on bail, and we should ban extended solitary in the U.S."
Apr 02, 2019
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday demanded the release of U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning and called for a ban on extended solitary confinement.
"Chelsea Manning has been trapped in solitary confinement for refusing to answer questions before a Grand Jury," tweeted the congresswoman from New York. "Solitary confinement is torture. Chelsea is being tortured for whistleblowing, she should be released on bail, and we should ban extended solitary in the U.S."
Chelsea Resists, Manning's support committee, thanked Ocasio-Cortez for calling attention to Manning's situation:
Manning--who served seven years in prison for releasing a trove of classified documents to Wikileaks--has been detained in solitary confinement in a Virginia jail for nearly four weeks for refusing to answer questions before a grand jury.
On Monday, Manning's lawyers filed a motion with a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, demanding her release on bail.
"Ms. Manning's conditions of confinement must either be modified so as not to constitute punishment or she must be released," said Manning's attorneys. "Since the jail cannot turn back the clock on punishment that has already occurred, her confinement in [administrative segregation] in excess of 15 days already constitutes an incurable due process violation. She must therefore be released."
Ocasio-Cortez's tweet demanding Manning's release came after the congresswoman delivered a broad defense of whistleblowers during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday--just a day after a White House whistleblower accused the Trump administration of overturning more than two dozen security clearance denials.
"We have a unique responsibility to protect those that have the courage to come out and say when something is wrong, regardless of the administration," the congresswoman said. "It doesn't matter the party. When something is going wrong in government--when there is overreach, when there's an abuse, or a misconduct of process--we have an obligation to see and investigate it."
Watch:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. 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. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday demanded the release of U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning and called for a ban on extended solitary confinement.
"Chelsea Manning has been trapped in solitary confinement for refusing to answer questions before a Grand Jury," tweeted the congresswoman from New York. "Solitary confinement is torture. Chelsea is being tortured for whistleblowing, she should be released on bail, and we should ban extended solitary in the U.S."
Chelsea Resists, Manning's support committee, thanked Ocasio-Cortez for calling attention to Manning's situation:
Manning--who served seven years in prison for releasing a trove of classified documents to Wikileaks--has been detained in solitary confinement in a Virginia jail for nearly four weeks for refusing to answer questions before a grand jury.
On Monday, Manning's lawyers filed a motion with a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, demanding her release on bail.
"Ms. Manning's conditions of confinement must either be modified so as not to constitute punishment or she must be released," said Manning's attorneys. "Since the jail cannot turn back the clock on punishment that has already occurred, her confinement in [administrative segregation] in excess of 15 days already constitutes an incurable due process violation. She must therefore be released."
Ocasio-Cortez's tweet demanding Manning's release came after the congresswoman delivered a broad defense of whistleblowers during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday--just a day after a White House whistleblower accused the Trump administration of overturning more than two dozen security clearance denials.
"We have a unique responsibility to protect those that have the courage to come out and say when something is wrong, regardless of the administration," the congresswoman said. "It doesn't matter the party. When something is going wrong in government--when there is overreach, when there's an abuse, or a misconduct of process--we have an obligation to see and investigate it."
Watch:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday demanded the release of U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning and called for a ban on extended solitary confinement.
"Chelsea Manning has been trapped in solitary confinement for refusing to answer questions before a Grand Jury," tweeted the congresswoman from New York. "Solitary confinement is torture. Chelsea is being tortured for whistleblowing, she should be released on bail, and we should ban extended solitary in the U.S."
Chelsea Resists, Manning's support committee, thanked Ocasio-Cortez for calling attention to Manning's situation:
Manning--who served seven years in prison for releasing a trove of classified documents to Wikileaks--has been detained in solitary confinement in a Virginia jail for nearly four weeks for refusing to answer questions before a grand jury.
On Monday, Manning's lawyers filed a motion with a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, demanding her release on bail.
"Ms. Manning's conditions of confinement must either be modified so as not to constitute punishment or she must be released," said Manning's attorneys. "Since the jail cannot turn back the clock on punishment that has already occurred, her confinement in [administrative segregation] in excess of 15 days already constitutes an incurable due process violation. She must therefore be released."
Ocasio-Cortez's tweet demanding Manning's release came after the congresswoman delivered a broad defense of whistleblowers during a House Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday--just a day after a White House whistleblower accused the Trump administration of overturning more than two dozen security clearance denials.
"We have a unique responsibility to protect those that have the courage to come out and say when something is wrong, regardless of the administration," the congresswoman said. "It doesn't matter the party. When something is going wrong in government--when there is overreach, when there's an abuse, or a misconduct of process--we have an obligation to see and investigate it."
Watch:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.