WikiLeaks Suspect Bradley Manning Set to Face Military Hearing
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is set to make his first court appearance on Friday at a pretrial hearing for his role in providing top-secret government documents to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The pretrial hearing for the 23-year-old will be held at Fort Meade in Maryland.
Manning is suspected as the source for one of the biggest intelligence leaks in U.S. history and will be facing several charges, including violating the Espionage Act and “aiding the enemy.”
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The charges that Manning faces could land him behind bars for the rest of his life.
The former intelligence analyst allegedly downloaded large numbers of government-classified documents including war videos, diplomatic cables, and military field reports while he was stationed on a military base near Baghdad, Iraq.
Manning shared the documents with Assange, who exposed them in July 2010 through his whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.
Manning was arrested in 2010 and has been held in military custody ever since.
The pretrial hearing is expected to last five days, after which a military general will determine whether or not to proceed with a full trial against Manning.
The documents stirred up controversy in diplomatic and military circles and highlighted grave concerns regarding the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. officials have argued that the public exposure of the sensitive documents has put lives at risk while straining international diplomatic relations and threatening national security.
“If it is the case that Bradley Manning is indeed the source of this and other Wikileaks materials, Manning would have single-handedly changed hundreds of thousands of people’s lives for the better,” Wikileaks said in a statement to the BBC news.
The organization holds that the material handed over to the website has aided in toppling dictatorships, exposing torture, and holding politicians and diplomatic bodies accountable.
Manning’s followers have organized a support rally for him on Saturday, and supporters will also be holding a vigil during his court hearing.
The anti-secrecy media site aimed at exposing injustices began in 2006, but did not jump into the public spotlight until Private Manning allegedly shared classified information with Assange.
