The defense team for WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning is planning to call 50 witnesses at next month’s military hearing, promising to turn the proceedings into a detailed legal battle over the merits of the prosecution case against him.
The Bradley Manning support network, a group of supporters of the US soldier that has paid the bulk of his legal fees so far, revealed that attorneys are preparing to launch a vigorous defense at the pre-trial hearing, known in the army as Article 32 proceedings, scheduled to take place at Ford Meade in Maryland on Dec. 16
Many legal angles will be pursued, with witnesses ranging from experts on whistleblowing to information technology specialists who can comment on technical details relating to Manning’s access to intelligence databases.
CONTRIBUTIONS
Manning’s defense is being led by a civilian lawyer, David Coombs, who has avoided contact with the media ahead of the start of the military process. The support network, which has been in close contact with Coombs, said it has contributed about US$130,000 toward his legal fees.
Jeff Paterson, a founding member of the network, told a telephone press conference that Coombs would call as many of the 50 witnesses he has identified as the army would allow. If he is permitted to call all 50 — which is considered unlikely — the hearing will take much longer than the five days set aside for it.
If he is not allowed to call many of the witnesses, Paterson said, Coombs would release the entire list of names for the public to see.
Ahead of the hearing, the army has released details of the precise charges against Manning. The most serious count is “aiding the enemy” — a charge that technically carries the death penalty, though prosecutors have indicated they would not press for that.
In addition, Manning is accused of 16 counts of wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet knowing that it is accessible to the enemy; five counts of theft of public property or records; eight of transmitting defense information; two of fraud in connection with computers; and five of violating army information security.
If convicted of all charges, -Manning would face a maximum sentence of confinement for life.
HERO
The five counts of theft of public records are being brought against Manning under the Espionage Act, the same law under which Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst who leaked the “Pentagon Papers” on Vietnam, was prosecuted in 1971. Ellsberg, an adviser to the support network, said if Manning were found to be the source of the WikiLeaks documents, “he deserves our thanks and has my admiration. He is unreservedly a hero.”
Ellsberg added that the Wiki-Leaks exposure of illegal war crimes by US forces in Iraq had been crucial to the decision of the Iraqi government to insist on legal jurisdiction over all US soldiers, which in turn forced the administration of US President Barack Obama to withdraw all remaining troops from the country.
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