Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
Across the Pond: This week, Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, was released on bail from a London prison. Assange will remain under “mansion arrest” at the 600-acre estate of Vaughan Smith, a London restaurateur and former war correspondent. He plans to fight extradition to Sweden where he would face sex crimes allegations.
Back Here at Home: Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U. S. Army intelligence specialist who has been accused of leaking classified documents to Wikileaks, has been held
in solitary confinement at the marine brig in Quantico, Virginia, for five months. Before being transferred to Quantico, Manning was held in a military jail in Kuwait for two months. Manning will face a court martial on charges that he provided Wikileaks with classified information in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Bradley Manning is being kept under constant surveillance and is “under a regimen of authority-administered anti-depressant drugs.” He is reportedly not permitted to have a pillow or sheets—and not permitted to exercise. He is allowed out of his cell for just one hour a day.
According to MSNBC, Manning is being held under harsher conditions than “Bryan Minkyu Martin, the naval intelligence specialist who allegedly tried to sell military secrets to an undercover FBI agent.” Minkyu, who is awaiting trial, is not being held in solitary confinement.
From Glenn Greenwald: “Just by itself, the type of prolonged solitary confinement to which Manning has been subjected for many months is widely viewed around the world as highly injurious, inhumane, punitive, and arguably even a form of torture.”
All this harsh treatment—and Manning hasn’t even been convicted of the crime for which he has been charged.
For further reading on a related topic: DOJ Says Pentagon Isn’t Properly Protecting Whistleblowers (Turley Blawg)
Sources:
The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning’s detention by Glenn Greenwald (Salon)
Forgetting Bradley Manning by Laura Flanders (The Notion: The Nation’s Group Blog)
Bradley Manning’s Personal Hell (MSNBC)
Photo of Bradley Manning courtesy of the Bradley Manning Support Network
Is he indoors all the time? Does anyone know if he gets any sunlight and/or fresh air?
Nate
1, December 19, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Anon Nurse,
There’s a place that justice has yet to visit.
The top.
========
Nate,
You’re absolutely correct, and it’s time for that visit…
You also said, “Perhaps life is just after all.”
I hope so…
Anon Nurse,
There’s a place that justice has yet to visit.
The top.
You’re absolutely correct, Elaine M. It is indeed Barack Obama’s America now. And it’s yours and mine, as well. With regard to Dick Cheney, while he might not be in power anymore, he’s not off the hook — not by any stretch of the imagination.
Thanks for this article and for bringing so many links and resources together. Insightful, informative comments, as well.
Nate,
I “salute PFC Bradley”, as well.
BBB,
Bradley is indeed guilty of the letter of the law. But the spirit of the law is meant to protect people. Who pays for 1,000s and 1,000s of lives lost – and the repercussions in our own little lives for being party to it, whether knowingly or unknowing, willing or unwilling?
A lowly E-3 for daring to reveal them to the world.
And us too – through the turmoil we’ve all been party to in one way or another.
Perhaps life is just after all.
I salute PFC Bradley.
BBB: You posit that Private Manning is being held in identical conditions with which you are familiar. That may be so, and maybe it is not. We are all aware there are, for lack of a better term, detentions with “special conditions.” You also make a flat statement that, “Manning also released classified information that was not evidence of any criminal cover-up.” Please keep in mind that he has not been convicted of anything yet. He is a pre-trial detainee and must be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of competent jurisdiction.
As for the conditions of his detention, if the allegations described in this thread as well as elsewhere on news and legal web sites is incorrect, I want hear a disclaimer. Let the Secretary of the Navy or the President make a public statement on the record the allegations are untrue. Or let an independent body such as Amnesty International, Red Cross or the ACLU make regular unannounced site visits. I am willing to make site visits myself if requested by defense counsel, but only if allowed as much time as I need and if the interviews, ability to observe, etc, are kept completely private and confidential with no “minders” looking over my shoulder.
Mike Spindell,
If all Pfc. Manning released was evidence of criminal activity being covered-up under the guise of national security, I’d be sitting squarely in his corner. Unfortunately, that is only part of the story. Manning also released classified information that was not evidence of any criminal cover-up. That’s the part I have a problem with, and the reason that I cannot, in good conscience, lend him my support.
There are many stories about the treatment of Pfc. Manning that are exaggerated or untrue. We have Glenn Greenwald saying that he is being held in solitary confinement, and that he has never been on any kind of suicide watch. We have three other accounts that indicate he is not in solitary confinement (completely isolated from others). Manning’s close friend, who visits him regularly, says that he has been on a suicide watch. The military says that he is on a Prevention of Injury (POI) watch. Somebody is lying and I have no reason to think it is his friend.
I spent 3 months TAD (Temporary Assigned Duty) to Navy Brig, Seattle, WA (actually NAS Sand Point). I’m pretty familiar with the operations of a brig. The guards there were extremely professional. All of them were enlisted men and women holding ranks of E-5 or above. The detainees on suicide (or POI) watch were not harassed, but they were required to follow a very strict protocol. They were not permitted to sleep during the day. (Why should the detainee be permitted to sleep during the day, when their brethren were working and standing duty?) The light was left on to permit observation, but it was not a bright light shining on them. Most detainees acclimated to the light and were able to sleep uninterrupted within a day or two. They also were not permitted to cover their heads with a blanket or sheet. The cells are small. There is room for a bed and a combination sink-toilet. That leaves about 18” of walkway from the front to the back of the cell. The bed must be made every morning (if I recall correctly, the detainee was not permitted to sit on the bed during the day. If they wanted to sit, they used the toilet seat.) The cell door is solid with about a 6” by 18” wire-reinforced window. The cell also had a back window of about the same size with the same wire reinforcement. The detainee was only permitted to have one book at a time.
With the exception of the alleged ‘are you ok’ every 5 minutes (which I think is likely not an accurate account), Pfc. Manning is not being treated differently than any other detainee who would be considered a risk to himself, and at risk of reprisal from fellow detainees.
Charges: Pfc. Manning has been charged. http://boingboing.net/images/xeni/100705-Manning-Charge-Sheet.pdf The delay in going forward with prosecution is probably being effected by the enormous amount of classified information that was released. What information was contained on each page, and what effect the release may have, could lead to additional charges.
I can sympathize with the guy who robs a store to feed his family. It’s when the guy also steals a case of beer and some girlie magazines that he loses my sympathy. Manning went too far. He didn’t just do what needed to be done, he went beyond that.
Elaine,
Yes, welcome to Barack Obama’s america.
Remember Jose Padilla? He came out of three and a half years of detention just a shell of himself. It doesn’t matter if the person is a US Citizen or not (Padilla and Manning both are), or if the person is guilty of a legitimate crime or not. This is no way to treat a fellow human being. I wonder if we have always been this evil, or do we just find out now?
The forced medication with apparently no medical diagnosis and treatment is to my mind torture, regardless of whether it’s authorized under the USMJ. And aside from the immorality of the treatment, it’s very stupid. Literally, the whole world is watching. If his keepers had a brain they’d bend over backwards to insure that Manning could never make any claim of mistreatment or neglect.
And, I don’t buy the idea that he’s being treated this way for his own protection.
Also, why the delay in charging him?
This is very very bad.
“Perhaps a good way to understand a particular society is by observing how they treat those who reveal unpleasant realities.”
Nal,
You are right on the money with this statement. People gain/maintain power in societies by selling the public on powerfuls myths. This could range from how much freedom they have, or don’t…to…xenophobic targets. When these myths are challenged the challenger becomes a threat to the power of those who promulgate, or ride upon the mythology. From the elite’s perspective the threat of truth, therefore its its agent, must be crushed. Ergo the torture of PFC Manning and the arrest and disparagement of Mr. Assange.
BBB,
Can’t you see by history, that whenever embarassing government secrets are exposed the fall back position is that unnamed lives were put at risk, in an effort to downplay the embarrassing and myth-busting effects of the disclosures? THe ability of human minds to justify an entities/their actions are limitless. The man is being tortured because he has helped to expose the hypocrisy of US actions versus the mythology supporting them.
FF LEO….I could not agree more….
RAF….it is my understanding….the UCMJ…..is an oxymoron…there is nothing just about the military….They may take as long as they wish or as short as they wish….they the JAG asks the Defense are they ready for trial….and you better be ready within 24 hours….it does not matter that they may have taken 3 years to get ready……Its more or less a dog and pony show….
So when some of the terrorists were tried in civil court, I was like hey a change at some real justice……but that was short lived……
SWM…..I am unsure if any agreement like that would be enforceable….
Bradley Manning, rest assured that you have done this country and our Constitution an invaluable service by exposing the lies and hypocrisy of our corrupt leadership. You, sir, are a hero in the spirit and tradition of our Founding Fathers. If I ever get the chance to thank you in person, it will involve a steak and drink of choice – minimum. A man of principle deserves no less. And those who would persecute and prosecute you to further their criminal activities under the color of authority deserve nothing but scorn and their comeuppance.
Blouise and anon nurse,
I’m sorry to say that Dick Cheney’s America has now become Barack Obama’s America.
From guardian.co.uk (12/16/2010)
Bradley Manning’s health deteriorating in jail, supporters say
The intelligence analyst suspected of leaking US diplomatic cables is being held in solitary confinement
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/16/bradley-manning-health-deteriorating
Excerpt:
His friends and supporters also claim they have been the target of extra-judicial harassment, intimidation and outright bribery by US government agents.
According to David House, a computer researcher from Boston who visits Manning twice a month, he is starting to deteriorate. “Over the last few weeks I have noticed a steady decline in his mental and physical wellbeing,” he said. “His prolonged confinement in a solitary holding cell is unquestionably taking its toll on his intellect; his inability to exercise due to [prison] regulations has affected his physical appearance in a manner that suggests physical weakness.”
Manning, House added, was no longer the characteristically brilliant man he had been, despite efforts to keep him intellectually engaged. He also disputed the authorities’ claims that Manning was being kept in solitary for his own good.
“I initially believed that his time in solitary confinement was a decision made in the interests of his safety,” he said. “As time passed and his suicide watch was lifted, to no effect, it became clear that his time in solitary – and his lack of a pillow, sheets, the freedom to exercise, or the ability to view televised current events – were enacted as a means of punishment rather than a means of safety.”
House said many people were reluctant to talk about Manning’s condition because of government harassment, including surveillance, warrantless computer seizures, and even bribes. “This has had such an intimidating effect that many are afraid to speak out on his behalf,” House said.
Some friends report being followed extensively. Another computer expert said the army offered him cash to – in his words – “infiltrate” the WikiLeaks website. He said: “I turned them down. I don’t want anything to do with this cloak and dagger stuff.”
When the Washington Post tried to investigate the claim, an army criminal investigation division spokesman refused to comment. “We’ve got an ongoing investigation,” he said. “We don’t discuss our techniques and tactics.”
On 3 November, House, 23, said he found customs agents waiting for him when he and his girlfriend returned to the US after a short holiday in Mexico. His bags were searched and two men identifying themselves as Homeland Security officials said they were being detained for questioning and would miss their connecting flight. The men seized all his electronic items and he was told to hand over all passwords and encryption keys – which he refused. The items have yet to be returned, said House. He added: “If Manning is convicted, it will be because his individual dedication to human ethics far surpasses that of the US government.”
I like that suggestion, rafflaw.
As Blouise said, “Welcome to Dick Cheney’s America.”
So at the moment, we have Wikileaks, Bradley Manning and, possibly Openleaks… Those with knowledge of what’s going on domestically have to be scared witless. They’ll do almost anything, I would imagine, to keep their domestic “games” from coming to the fore.
“Good Germans, so many good Germans, just following orders…”
-lottakatz
As I’ve said before, I don’t recognize our country anymore…
I have a suggestion for the Pentagon. Give Manning his life back until you give him a fair trial!
Correction:
So they’re have him on POI watch… SB
So they have him on POI watch.
“…he has been held under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch.”
from the link supplied by Nal
======
Glenn Greenwald was on MSNBC yesterday and said that Manning hasn’t had a mental health evaluation yet, because the various parties haven’t been able to agree on who should conduct the evaluation. So they’re have him on POI watch…
They don’t want him to hurt himself. But it’s all right for them to “hurt” him…
Sure. Makes sense to me. (And that’s sarcasm, just to be clear.)
A Typical Day for PFC Bradley Manning