Inhumane, but well deserved.

[^_^ 5,021]

The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning's detention

Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime. Despite that, he has been detained at the U.S. Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia for five months -- and for two months before that in a military jail in Kuwait -- under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and, by the standards of many nations, even torture. Interviews with several people directly familiar with the conditions of Manning's detention, ultimately including a Quantico brig official (Lt. Brian Villiard) who confirmed much of what they conveyed, establishes that the accused leaker is subjected to detention conditions likely to create long-term psychological injuries.

Since his arrest in May, Manning has been a model detainee, without any episodes of violence or disciplinary problems. He nonetheless was declared from the start to be a "Maximum Custody Detainee," the highest and most repressive level of military detention, which then became the basis for the series of inhumane measures imposed on him.

From the beginning of his detention, Manning has been held in intensive solitary confinement. For 23 out of 24 hours every day -- for seven straight months and counting -- he sits completely alone in his cell. Even inside his cell, his activities are heavily restricted; he's barred even from exercising and is under constant surveillance to enforce those restrictions. For reasons that appear completely punitive, he's being denied many of the most basic attributes of civilized imprisonment, including even a pillow or sheets for his bed (he is not and never has been on suicide watch). For the one hour per day when he is freed from this isolation, he is barred from accessing any news or current events programs.

...

UPDATE: I was contacted by Lt. Villiard, who claims there is one factual inaccuracy in what I wrote: specifically, he claims that Manning is not restricted from accessing news or current events during the proscribed time he is permitted to watch television. That is squarely inconsistent with reports from those with first-hand knowledge of Manning's detention, but it's a fairly minor dispute in the scheme of things.

[Ban Hammer 13,669]

oh well.

[JohnSmith2007 353]

The traitor/spy shouldn't see the light of day again for a very long time. He is lucky this isn't the 40's. Just remember what happend to the spies that passed the nuclear secrets to the USSR.

[Azzudiin 26]

He put many many people at risk of serious harm, I hope he is locked up for a very long time.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

The war criminals in office, Mr. Obama included, don't like it when their actions are made public. I side with Michael Moore who stated that if we have had Wikileaks in the 1960s, there would have been no Vietnam War. Had we had Wikileaks before 9/11 happened, there would have been no 9/11.

I ask you to imagine how much different our world would be if WikiLeaks had existed 10 years ago. Take a look at this photo. That's Mr. Bush about to be handed a "secret" document on August 6th, 2001. Its heading read: "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US." And on those pages it said the FBI had discovered "patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings." Mr. Bush decided to ignore it and went fishing for the next four weeks.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-moore/why-im-posting-bail-money_b_796319.html

The man is a hero, did what he needed to do for the good of his country and the World. Like many heros, such as Mahatma Ghandi, he has to endure a period of suffering from his oppressors, but I hope he will survive and be rewarded for his bravery one day.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Michael Moore is nuts if he thinks wikileaks would have prevented 911. How many Al Quada docs have they leaked?

I don't have a lot of sympathy for traitors and pre-trial holds are quite common for major crimes.