US Army Private
First Class Bradley Manning arrives alongside military officials at a US
military court facility to hear his sentence in his trial at Fort Meade,
Maryland on August 21, 2013. (AFP Photo / Saul Loeb)
Source: Russia Today
A US military
judge has sentenced Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison. Manning
faced up to 90 years behind bars, while prosecutors sought to put the
whistleblower away for a minimum of six decades.
Manning will be
credited with the 1,294 days he spent in pre-trial confinement plus an
additional 112 days. He was also dishonorably discharged, saw his rank reduced
to private from private first class and was forced to forfeit all pay and
benefits. No additional fine, however, was levied against him. Manning will
have to serve a third of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Col. Denise Lind,
who on Tuesday began her deliberations in the court-martial case, announced the
sentence shortly after 10am local time (14:00 GMT). Lind read out the sentence
succinctly and provided no other statement as a gaggle of journalist’s waited
in anticipation. Flanked by his lawyers, Manning, 25, stood at attention and
appeared not to react when Lind announced the punishment, AP reports. He
further made no statement after his fate was announced
Immediately after
sentencing, Amnesty International called on President Barack Obama to commute
Manning’s sentence to time already served to allow his immediate release.
"Instead
of fighting tooth and nail to lock him up for decades, the US government should
turn its attention to investigating and delivering justice for the serious
human rights abuses committed by its officials in the name of countering
terror,” said Widney
Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty
International.
The American
Civil Liberties Union was also quick to excoriate the decision.
“When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system,” said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
“When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system,” said Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
Elizabeth
Goitein, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the
Brennan Center for Justice, decried the sentence as "unprecedented"
in its magnitude.
"It's more than 17 times the next longest sentence ever served" for providing secret material to the media, said Goitein. "It is in line with sentences for paid espionage for the enemy."
"It's more than 17 times the next longest sentence ever served" for providing secret material to the media, said Goitein. "It is in line with sentences for paid espionage for the enemy."
Manning's lawyer
David E. Coombs had asked the judge for leniency, requesting a sentence that
did not “rob him of his youth." Coombs argued that Manning's leaks had not
endangered the US.
The prosecution had sought a 60-year sentence, arguing the stiff term would deter others from leaking classified information.
"There's value in deterrence," prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said in his closing argument on Monday
The prosecution had sought a 60-year sentence, arguing the stiff term would deter others from leaking classified information.
"There's value in deterrence," prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said in his closing argument on Monday
Protesters with the Bradley Manning Support Network
hold a vigil while waiting to hear Manning's sentence on August 21, 2013
outside the gate of Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. (AFP Photo / T.J.
Kirkpatrick)
Last week the
25-year-old Manning apologized for the “unintended consequences”
of his actions, saying he believed he was “going to help people, not hurt
people."
He told the court at Fort Meade, Maryland, that "the last three years have been a learning experience for me."
WikiLeaks responded to Manning’s mea culpa, saying “the only currency this military court will take is Bradley Manning’s humiliation.” The anti-secrecy group continued that Manning’s “forced” apology was done in the hopes of “shaving a decade or more off his sentence.”
The soldier was convicted last month of 20 charges including espionage, theft and violating computer regulations. Manning was found not guilty, however, of the most serious charge – aiding the enemy – which entailed a potential sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Manning faced up to 90 years in prison for passing on more than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010. He was later arrested in Iraq in May of that year.
He also leaked video of ‘Collateral Murder’ video, which shows a US helicopter attack in Baghdad in which at least nine non-combatants were killed, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.
Manning is entitled to appeal against any verdict handed to him by the court-martial in the Army Court of Criminal Appeal within six months.
He told the court at Fort Meade, Maryland, that "the last three years have been a learning experience for me."
WikiLeaks responded to Manning’s mea culpa, saying “the only currency this military court will take is Bradley Manning’s humiliation.” The anti-secrecy group continued that Manning’s “forced” apology was done in the hopes of “shaving a decade or more off his sentence.”
The soldier was convicted last month of 20 charges including espionage, theft and violating computer regulations. Manning was found not guilty, however, of the most serious charge – aiding the enemy – which entailed a potential sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Manning faced up to 90 years in prison for passing on more than 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and State Department diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq in 2010. He was later arrested in Iraq in May of that year.
He also leaked video of ‘Collateral Murder’ video, which shows a US helicopter attack in Baghdad in which at least nine non-combatants were killed, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver.
Manning is entitled to appeal against any verdict handed to him by the court-martial in the Army Court of Criminal Appeal within six months.
Manning's
sentence unjustifiably harsh, crimes he exposed remain unpunished – Moscow
Source: Russia Today
Moscow has slammed the “harsh” sentence for US Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, saying it was apparently meant to scare away other whistleblowers, and was not in accordance with human rights standards.
“When the
USA’s interests are at stake, the American judicial system, as in the case of
Bradley Manning, takes unjustifiably harsh decisions based on the principle of
'let’s teach them so that it doesn’t become a habit' – and without any glance
at the human rights aspects,” Russian Foreign Ministry’s special
representative for human rights, Konstantin Dolgov told reporters on Wednesday.
Calling Manning’s
case an example of US “double standards in regard with the supremacy of law
and human rights,” Dolgov argued it showed that America’s claims for
leadership in those respects are “groundless.”
The Foreign
Ministry official then cited international human rights groups – including
those in based in the US – who believe Manning has revealed “widespread
abuses on the part of the US Army during operations in Iraq and Afghanistan,
including the deaths of civilian, the torture of prisoners, as well as the
other grave abuses of the international human rights law. ”
Despite all the
efforts of rights groups and the UN Human Rights Council, no one in the US was
held accountable for these crimes, Dolgov added
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FREE Bradley Manning!!! Jail the top brass of the US Military for their War Crimes in Iraq AND the US Government executive for their Aggressive war on the sovereign nation of Iraq!
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