Army appeals court denies petition seeking public access to WikiLeaks court-martial file
Source: Associated Press
Thursday, June 21, 4:39 PM
FORT BELVOIR, Va. — An Army appeals court has denied a request for public access to military court records in the case of an Army private charged with sending classified U.S. government documents to the secret-sharing website WikiLeaks.
The Army Court of Criminal Appeals at Fort Belvoir, Va., issued the ruling Thursday ...
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/army-appeals-court-denies-petition-seeking-public-access-to-wikileaks-court-martial-file/2012/06/21/gJQAcNERtV_story.html
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clang1
(884 posts)Last edited Thu Jun 21, 2012, 07:11 PM - Edit history (3)
Wow you are all over this. Why don't you ever comment instead of just posting things? Glad CCR is involved. Has anyone read where the dehumanization/torture order came from for Manning while he was beoing held in the Brig in VA? The order did not come from within the brig, that's for sure.
Ah, Oh ok. It waaaaaas juuuust a miiistake
Government Admits Brig Commander Improperly Put Bradley Manning on Suicide Watch
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/01/24/government-admits-brig-commander-improperly-put-bradley-manning-on-suicide-watch/
'So Manning allegedly fails to follow an order and the Brig Commander decides he loses his glasses and is stripped of his clothing?'
Bullshit.
clang1
(884 posts)Anti-torture office responds to complaint
By Mary Papenfuss, Newser Staff
http://www.newser.com/story/108169/un-launches-probe-into-bradley-manning-torture.html
Posted Dec 23, 2010 1:41 AM CST
(Newser) – The United Nations has launched an investigation into reports that treatment of the army private suspected of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks amounts to torture. Bradley Manning is being held aboard a floating brig in Quantico, Va., where he's not allowed to exercise during his 23 hours of solitary confinement a day, reports AP. If Manning tries to do any kind of exercise in his cell, he's immediately ordered to stop, according to his attorney, who also complained about the harsh conditions of the brig.
The UN office on torture issues in Geneva launched its probe after receiving a complaint from one of Manning's supporters about his treatment in custody, though the supporter was not identified. The UN could ask the US to halt violations if officials determine Manning is being tortured. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who refuses to reveal his sources, has called Mannng a "political prisoner." Manning's living conditions "have been getting worse and worse and worse in his cell as they attempt to pressure him into testifying against me," he said. "That's a serious problem." US officials deny Manning's treatment amounts to torture, saying he is being kept safe and secure.
clang1
(884 posts)Assange would have much worse to look forward to
07 April 2011
Relevant to bring this up again even though Manning was moved last year or so.
Brig Fails to Follow Its Own Rules
http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/2011/04/brig-fails-to-follow-its-own-rules.html
Posted by Army Court-Martial Defense Specialist at 11:24 AM
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Over the past few weeks, the defense has been working to facilitate an official visit for Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Mr. Juan Mendez (the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture), and a representative from Amnesty International. Despite multiple inquires from the defense and the interested parties, the Quantico Brig and the Government have denied the requests for an "official visit."
The Quantico Brig Order P1640.1C, paragraph 3.17 allows two types of visitors for a detainee, "authorized" and "official." The difference between them is described here in the Brig rule. The defense maintains that the critical distinction between the two is that official visits are privileged and not subject to Brig monitoring.
The Government's position is that the above individuals are not entitled to an official visit because none of these individuals are conducting "official government business." Because the Government refuses to allow these visits to take place as an official visit, it indicates that it will generously interpret the provisions with respect to "authorized visits." In particular, it will permit an authorized visit with PFC Manning despite the fact that none of these individuals had "established a proper relationship with the prisoner prior to confinement" as required under the Brig rule. Such an authorized visit, of course, will be subject to Brig monitoring and can be used as evidence against PFC Manning in a court-martial proceeding.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Sure, he had promised secrecy, but who decided this amount of information had to be secret? Someone paranoid?
clang1
(884 posts)Amnesty International hails WikiLeaks and Guardian as Arab spring 'catalysts'
The human rights group predicts a serious fightback from the forces of repression as it releases its annual report
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/13/amnesty-international-wikileaks-arab-spring
"The year 2010 may well be remembered as a watershed year when activists and journalists used new technology to speak truth to power and, in so doing, pushed for greater respect for human rights," Amnesty's secretary general, Salil Shetty, says in an introduction to the document. "It is also the year when repressive governments faced the real possibility that their days were numbered."
Truth to power because the power has the stench of a sewer. Manning should be a hero for what he's done. Instead he is a political prisoner that has been tortured by the US Government like so many others have been.
clang1
(884 posts)Last edited Thu Jun 21, 2012, 08:33 PM - Edit history (10)
In brig, WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning ordered to sleep without clothing
Snakes. 20 year kid exposed to the fascists SUPERMAX regime. Sure this smarmie Lt Villiard will make a fine troop commander some day. Scumbag. I would not have wanted my military career in the hands of an asshat like this person and I feel for any soldier that might find themselves under the command of such a person as this. Fallujah's happen because of Commanders like this one. This man has no business in the US Military. His Army is the Army of rightwing extremists, not the Military of the United States. He shames the uniform and military service.
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 5, 2011; 10:02 PM
Military jailers are forcing Bradley Manning, the 23-year-old soldier accused of passing classified documents to WikiLeaks.org, to strip naked in his cell at night and sleep without clothing, a requirement his lawyer says was imposed after Manning made a "sarcastic quip" about his confinement.
This Story
In brig, WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning ordered to sleep without clothing
For most of the past eight months, Manning has been required to sleep wearing only boxer shorts, because of his status as a detainee under "prevention of injury watch," said 1st Lt. Brian Villiard, a spokesman for the military detention facility, or "brig," in Quantico. Beginning Wednesday night, the facility commander ordered that Manning turn over his boxers, too.
"The intention is not to cause any sort of humiliation or embarrassment," Villiard said. "The intention is to ensure the safety and security of the detainee and make sure he is able to stand trial."
Villiard said he could not explain how Manning might harm himself if he were allowed to keep his underwear, citing rules to protect detainees' privacy. All he could say was that "circumstances warranted" the measure, which was ordered by the brig commander, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Denise Barnes. The requirement will remain in effect until a review next week, he said.
But Manning's attorney, David E. Coombs, said he believed the order was "punitive" under the "guise of being concerned" about Manning's welfare.
In a blog post Saturday, Coombs gave this account of how the boxers were taken away: On Wednesday, Manning was told he would continue to be kept under the restrictions of prevention of injury watch, that there was nothing he could do to change his maximum-custody status and that the brig commander considered him at risk of self-harm. Manning then said that the restrictions were "absurd" and that if he wanted to harm himself using an item of clothing, he could do so "with the elastic waistband of his underwear or with his flip-flops."
Without consulting the facility's mental health provider, the brig commander used Manning's quip as "justification" to increase the restrictions on him, Coombs said. He said Manning was not placed under suicide watch because that would have required a mental health provider's recommendation that the brig commander lacked.
In response to this specific incident, the brig psychiatrist assessed Manning as "low risk," Coombs wrote. In particular, the psychiatrist said that Manning's statement about his underwear waistband was "in no way prompted by 'a psychiatric condition.' "
Villiard did not immediately respond to messages left late Saturday seeking comment on Coombs's claim.
The conditions of Manning's confinement have become controversial, with the United Nations special rapporteur on torture saying he submitted a formal inquiry to the State Department about Manning's treatment. The State Department confirmed Saturday that U.S. officials "have met with the special rapporteur and are preparing a formal response."
Under prevention of injury watch, Manning sleeps on a mattress with a built-in pillow. He has no sheet, only a blanket designed so that it cannot be shredded.
He is in maximum custody, which means he is allowed out of his cell for only one hour each day - to exercise by himself, indoors or outdoors. The maximum-custody designation is based on the seriousness of the alleged offense and the potential length of the sentence, as well as the military's duty to protect him from himself and others, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said last month.
clang1
(884 posts)Yeah, in the right place.
The State Department spokesman and the Prisoner in the Brig
http://philippathomas.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/the-state-department-spokesman-and-the-prisoner-in-the-brig/
Posted on March 10, 2011
I just heard an extraordinary remark from State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. He was speaking to a small audience at MIT on “the benefits of new media as it relates to foreign policy”, an event organised by the Center for Future Civic Media.
Around twenty of us were sitting around the table listening to his views on social media, the impact of the Twittersphere, the Arab uprisings, and so on, in a vast space-age conference room overlooking the Charles River and the Boston skyline. And then, inevitably, one young man said he wanted to address “the elephant in the room”. What did Crowley think, he asked, about Wikileaks? About the United States, in his words, “torturing a prisoner in a military brig”? Crowley didn’t stop to think. What’s being done to Bradley Manning by my colleagues at the Department of Defense “is ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid.” He paused. “None the less Bradley Manning is in the right place”. And he went on lengthening his answer, explaining why in Washington’s view, “there is sometimes a need for secrets… for diplomatic progress to be made”.
But still, he’d said it. And the fact he felt strongly enough to say it seems to me an extraordinary insight into the tensions within the administration over Wikileaks.
A few minutes later, I had a chance to ask a question. “Are you on the record?” I would not be writing this if he’d said no. There was an uncomfortable pause. “Sure.” So there we are.
clang1
(884 posts)This kid is still an American soldier, that volunteered for duty during time of war. No filthy rightwing extremists or anyone for that matter has the right to treat him as he has been treated. NO ONE. Writing about this brings tears to my eyes. I'm sorry.
