After 19 months’ imprisonment, Pte Bradley Manning, the US army analyst accused of leaking government files to WikiLeaks, began a pretrial (or Article 32) hearing yesterday that is expected to continue throughout next week. It is the first opportunity for Manning’s defence team and the US government to present their cases and determine if a full-scale court martial is warranted.
The defence team has asked for 48 witnesses to take the stand during the hearing, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but the government seeks to reject all of them minus the 10 it is also calling as witnesses.
Since his arrest in Iraq in May 2010, Manning (below) has been accused of providing the whistle-blowing website with several hundred thousand diplomatic cables and classified reports on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If convicted, Manning could face life in prison – though the most serious charge, that of aiding the enemy, carries a maximum penalty of death.
The defence team claims Manning’s emotional health at the time of the leaks was not adequately addressed by the US army and that a White House review concluded the alleged leaks did no real damage to national security.
The conditions of Manning’s imprisonment, which have included solitary confinement at the Quantico US marine base, where he was stripped of clothing every night, have been a source of controversy, leading to the resignation of Hillary Clinton’s press spokesman PJ Crowley.
