Manning Charges 'Hammer' Whistle-Blowers, Lawyer Says
Manning Charges 'Hammer' Whistle-Blowers, Lawyer Says
FT. MEADE, Md. (CN) - Charging WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning with "aiding the enemy" is a "very slippery slope" that threatens to put the "hammer down on any whistle-blower," his defense attorney told a military judge on Monday.
The former intelligence specialist faces 22 charges connected with the disclosure of more than 700,000 military and diplomatic files, including battlefield reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. embassy cables, and footage of airstrikes that killed civilians.
Manning said he hoped the publication of this information would spark widespread debate, reforms and reportage about the way the U.S. conducts warfare and diplomacy.
Although the "aiding the enemy" charge against him is a possible capital offense, prosecutors are seeking a life sentence in this case rather than the death penalty. The charge has ignited controversy for having journalistic sources risk their lives by approaching journalists with information they believe to be in the public interest.
News outlets from the New York Times and the New Republic condemned the charge as dangerous overkill, and Amnesty International recently called upon the U.S. military to withdraw it.
Manning's attorney David Coombs noted Monday that the statute is typically used to punish cases when "the accused goes to somebody that he believes or she believes to be an enemy."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/07/16/59406.htm
= new reply since forum marked as read
