
(MintPress) – The likes of Julian Assange, Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman and The Nation and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) are calling for more transparency in the trial and prosecution of military whistleblower Bradley Manning. Since his arrest in 2010 for allegedly leaking confidential wartime documents and video from Iraq to the website WikiLeaks, Manning’s situation has been subject to criticism and scrutiny for alleged unethical treatments of Manning and shrouding the court proceedings in secrecy.
The collection of media outlets, reporters and organizations are pushing a petition that would fully open up the trial process of Manning to the press and public, according to The Guardian. Currently, only small selections of media representatives are allowed in the hearings. The opposition argues the trial is being conducted under more secrecy than those of 9/11 terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.
The CCR says trial judge Colonel Denise Lind is in the wrong for conducting the legal proceedings in secrecy because it is a violation of the First Amendment, which states the government would need to provide a need for secrecy in the court to continue its current practices.
None of the prosecution’s motions submitted to the court martial have been released yet.
Manning faces 22 counts in the leak of government information, the most serious being an aiding the enemy charge. On Thursday, Manning sought the dismissal of 10 counts, claiming eight of the counts were unconstitutionally vague and that two others fail to state a prosecutable offense, according to Politico.
The CCR argues that some of those counts could be more easily scrutinized by an informed public if the military court trial were opened up. CCR director Baher Azmy said in a statement that the trial conductors are claiming transparency despite operating mostly in secrecy.
“Public scrutiny plays a vital role in government accountability. Media access to the Manning trial proceedings and documents is critical for the transparency on which democratic government and faith in our justice system rests,” Azmy said. “Portions of the hearings themselves have been open to a small number attorneys and press, but the Manning proceedings have been open in name only.”
Manning’s defense attorney, David Coombs, has been the only source for documents related to the trial thus far. In April, Coombs called for all 22 charges against Manning to be dropped because of consistent delays in the trial and for the court’s refusal to hand over documents during the discovery process, a violation of military rule for court martials, according to The Guardian.
Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation, said her publication signed onto the petition because accusations, such as those made by Coombs, are signs that public scrutiny and transparency can influence how the government functions.
“Since its founding in 1865, The Nation has been committed to the elementary democratic principle that government operate openly and be subject to public oversight,” vanden Huevel said in a statement with the CCR. “We believe citizens have a right to know what their government is doing. It is therefore vital that the media covering Pfc. Bradley Manning’s court martial be able to view documents filed in public proceedings.”
‘Cruel’ treatment
In March, a United Nations (UN) investigation concluded that the United States government’s treatment of Manning was “cruel, inhuman and degrading.” After Manning’s arrest in 2010, he spent eight months in solitary confinement, living in conditions his lawyer called “clearly punitive in nature.”
It has been known for some time now that Manning was considered a maximum-custody detainee and classified under prevention-of-injury watch out of fear that his psychological state put him at risk of self-harm. Manning was forced to stay in his cell for 23 hours a day and was required to sleep only in his boxer shorts, which was then altered to require him to sleep naked because security guards thought Manning could harm himself with the elastic waistband in his boxer shorts.
Coombs condemned the treatment, as did UN torture chief Juan Mendez, who spent 14 months investigating Manning’s treatment. Mendez said the type of solitary confinement Manning faced could cause serious psychological and physiological effects.
“The special rapporteur concludes that imposing seriously punitive conditions of detention on someone who has not been found guilty of any crime is a violation of his right to physical and psychological integrity as well as of his presumption of innocence,” the final report said.
The Defense Department defended its treatment of Manning, arguing that he was given all of the necessities needed, such as a pillow and blanket to sleep with.
“He was not made to stand naked for morning count but, but on one day, he chose to do so,” the department reported. “There were no female personnel present at the time. PFC Manning has since been issued a garment to sleep in at night. He is clothed in a standard jumpsuit during the day.”
Manning has long since been out of solitary confinement, and his next trial is scheduled for June 6-8. In February, Manning was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by The Movement of Icelandic Parliament, with the group saying that Manning “helped to fuel a worldwide discussion about America’s overseas engagements, civilian war casualties, imperialistic manipulations, and rules of engagement.”