Charges against US soldier accused of allegedly passing 250,000 US embassy cables to WikiLeaks laid out at pre-trial
The charges against Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of orchestrating the largest leak of state secrets in American history, are set to be laid out by the prosecution.
The preliminary hearing to establish whether the US soldier should face a full court martial for allegedly passing more than 250,000 US embassy cables to WikiLeaks, got off to a dramatic start on Friday when his lawyer demanded that the investigating officer step aside because of alleged bias.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza, the military equivalent to a judge in the proceedings, rejected the call by Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, to stand down and suspend the hearing pending an appeal on the grounds that he works as a prosecutor for the US justice department.
The department is involved in a criminal pursuit of Julian Assange, founder WikiLeaks, to which Manning is alleged to have transferred a huge trove of US embassy cables and other confidential materials.
Almanza said that under the rules of military justice, a "reasonable person" would not conclude that he was incapable of conducting an impartial investigation into the charges against Manning.
"I don't believe I'm biased," Almanza said, explaining that his government work concerns child exploitation and obscenity. He said he has not talked about WikiLeaks or Manning with anyone in the department or FBI.
The soldier, who turns 24 today, faces a maximum sentence of life in military custody with no chance of parole. The most serious charge against him – aiding the enemy – carries the death penalty, but the prosecutors have indicated they will not seek the ultimate punishment.
The full charge sheet was released for the first time. There are a total of 23 counts, including that Manning knowingly gave "intelligence to the enemy, through indirect means". The idea that WikiLeaks constitutes a conduit to an enemy of the US state will in itself be subject of much debate and legal argument.
A second charge accuses Manning of causing information to be published "having knowledge that intelligence published on the internet is accessible to the enemy".
He is also charged with passing information from a secure database containing more than 250,000 records belonging to the US government – a reference to the US embassy cables published by WikiLeaks through an international group of newspapers including the Guardian in November 2010.
Manning's case has spawned an international support network of people who believe the US government has gone too far in seeking to prosecute him. A few dozen supporters attended a rally outside Fort Meade on Friday.
"I plan to march all night tonight and bring as much attention as I can to put the entire country on notice that we have a hero who's standing trial for nothing more than telling the truth," said Dan Choi, who was discharged from the military for revealing he is gay.
But Mandie Stanley, a 19-year-old who lives on the Army post with her husband, a member of the Air Force, was less supportive.
"That man did something very wrong," she said. Stanley spotted the protesters and decided to come out with a sign that said: "Don't leak classified information, stupid!"
--
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/17/bradley-manning-charges-laid-out
~
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com
Belum ada komentar untuk "Bradley Manning hearing: charges to be laid out by prosecution"
Posting Komentar