Monday, November 21, 2011

Bradley Manning gets court date – 1½ years after imprisonment

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Pfc. Bradley Manning
Pfc. Bradley Manning

This lede tells you all you need to know:

One year, six months, and three weeks after he was first jailed in a military brig in Kuwait, alleged WikiLeaks leaker Bradley Manning will have his day in court: According to a blog post Monday from his lawyer David Coombs, the Army private first class will have a pre-trial hearing in Fort Meade, Maryland on December 16th, a day before his 24th birthday, to examine the government’s charges and evidence and determine whether to proceed with the case against him.

So, after being left to rot in a military brig for more than a year-and-a-half without ever being formally accused by any court – and during which time he’s undergone prolonged isolation and other sorts of punitive measures that have been called nothing less than psychological torture by human rights groups and legal experts – Pfc. Manning will finally get to appear in court so the prosecution can decide “whether to proceed with the case”.

I sorely wish you just couldn’t make this shit up.

(via @ggreenwald)