Military hearing debates fate of alleged WikiLeaks ‘traitor’

At a military base in Maryland, lawyers will tomorrow start debating whether Private Bradley Manning will face trial for supplying information to the enemy.

The Article 32 hearing, which is due to last into next week, will go some way in deciding the fate of a man both condemned as a traitor and celebrated as a freedom of information “hacktivist”.

Manning has been held since arrest in May 2010. The 23-year-old is accused of downloading hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables and reports while based in Iraq as an intelligence analyst and forwarding them to WikiLeaks.

The alleged whistle-blower faces a 22-count indictment, including charges of aiding the enemy. The crime carries a maximum penalty of death, although prosecutors have indicated that they will only be seeking a custodial sentence.

State lawyers allege Manning began leaking secrets in November 2009 and carried on for months before being caught.

During that time he “wrongfully and wantonly” fed US intelligence to WikiLeaks, despite “having knowledge that intelligence published on the internet is accessible to the enemy,” prosecutors claim.

Alongside classified reports, Manning is also alleged to have leaked a 2007 video clip of a US helicopter crew laughing as they shoot dead 11 men they believed to be Iraqi insurgents – but later found to have included a Reuters photojournalist and his driver.

It is alleged Manning’s leaking only came to an end after a former confidant, Adrian Lamo, turned him in.

Many of the internet exchanges between Manning and his former friend Mr Lamo have themselves made their way into the public domain, and show the young intelligence analyst to be a troubled man.

Posting as “bradass87”, Manning complains of his struggles as a “super-intelligent, awkwardly effeminate” gay man in the US army during the era of “don’t ask, don’t tell”.

During the course of their chats, Manning also appears to justify his leaking of documents.

“I want people to see the truth because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public,” he is alleged to have posted.

Such sentiments have seen the accused soldier amass a sympathetic following among freedom of information activists. Supporters include Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, which did much to discredit US involvement in the Vietnam war. He said Manning was “unreservedly a hero”. But others say his actions have been treacherous. Earlier this year, Republican congressman Mike Rogers suggested that the death penalty would be a suitable punishment. President Barack Obama has also been drawn into the debate after a video clip emerged of him being challenged over Manning’s treatment. In it Mr Obama replied: “We’re a nation of laws. We don’t let individuals make their own decisions about how the laws operate. He broke the law.”

In court papers, Manning’s civilian lawyer David Coombs accuses the president of making “improper comments” about the case. The defence team has asked Mr Obama to testify at the Article 32 hearing but it is thought the request has been denied.

Manning’s legal team are likely to argue that the material leaked did not damage US national security or endanger US lives. Members of the Free Bradley Manning campaign are planning to stage protests during the hearings.