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For Immediate Release
Contact: Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167

Manning Takes the Stand; Push for Nobel Peace Prize

Bradley Manning is expected to take the stand today in his trial -- which is now in its sentencing phase. The following have covered the entire trial and are expected to be providing live updates: @kgosztola, @carwinb, @nathanLfuller.

WASHINGTON

Bradley Manning is expected to take the stand today in his trial -- which is now in its sentencing phase. The following have covered the entire trial and are expected to be providing live updates: @kgosztola, @carwinb, @nathanLfuller.

NORMAN SOLOMON, [in D.C. until Sunday], solomonprogressive at gmail.com
USA Today recently published "Manning Deserves Nobel Peace Prize" by Solomon.

Available for a limited number of interviews, Solomon has just returned to the U.S. after meeting with the head of research for the Nobel Committee and delivering a petition urging that Manning receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Reuters reported on Monday: "A U.S. rights group has collected over 100,000 signatures urging the Norwegian Nobel Committee to give this year's Peace Prize to Bradley Manning, a U.S. soldier convicted of leaking classified U.S. government files touching on military policy.

"Recognizing Manning, the head of the RootsAction group said, would also help repair the Nobel panel's reputation after it chose President Barack Obama for the Peace Prize in 2009, only a few months into his first term of office.

"'There's a cloud hanging over the Nobel Peace Committee,' Norman Solomon, co-founder of RootsAction said on Monday, as he prepared to hand his 5,000-page petition to the committee.

"'In a sense, the Nobel Peace Prize at this point needs Bradley Manning more than Bradley Manning needs the Nobel Peace Prize ... There has now grown a question about the Nobel Committee's commitment to human rights and peace in an even handed, independent way.'

"Private First Class Manning was convicted earlier this month of charges that included espionage and theft for releasing more than 700,000 battlefield videos, diplomatic cables and other secret documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. He now faces up to 90 years in prison."

The petition is at: ManningNobel.org.

See video of Norman Solomon at news conference in Norway, where the story has been widely covered.

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