The persecution and prosecution of Bradley Manning

[Peter Lemkin]

Bradley Manning verdict: guilty of most charges but not 'aiding enemy'

Bradley Manning faces maximum 130-year sentence
Convicted of most charges against him at Fort Meade
Not guilty of most serious 'aiding the enemy' charge

Bradley Manning is escorted to a security vehicle outside a courthouse in Fort Meade, Maryland, on Monday 29 July 2013. The judge will rule on Manning's case on Tuesday.
[B]7m ago[/B]
[B]Manning family issue statement[/B]

[B]The family of Bradley Manning has issued a statement to the Guardian giving their reaction to today's verdict. The statement is written by Manning's US-based aunt, who has asked to remain anonymous, speaking on behalf of the soldier's family:[/B]

While we are obviously disappointed in today's verdicts, we are happy that Judge Lind agreed with us that Brad never intended to help America's enemies in any way. Brad loves his country and was proud to wear its uniform.
We want to express our deep thanks to David Coombs, who has dedicated three years of his life to serving as lead counsel in Brad's case. We also want to thank Brad's Army defense team, Major Thomas Hurley and Captain Joshua Tooman, for their tireless efforts on Brad's behalf, and Brad's first defense counsel, Captain Paul Bouchard, who was so helpful to all of us in those early confusing days and first suggested David Coombs as Brad's counsel. Most of all, we would like to thank the thousands of people who rallied to Brad's cause, providing financial and emotional support throughout this long and difficult time, especially Jeff Paterson and Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network. Their support has allowed a young Army private to defend himself against the full might of not only the US Army but also the US Government.

[B]14m ago[/B]
Colonel Denise Lind, the military judge presiding over the court
martial of the US soldier, delivered her verdict in curt and pointed
language, writes Ed Pilkington from Fort Meade:
"Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty," she repeated over and over, as the reality of a prolonged prison sentence for Manning on top of the three years he has already spent in detention dawned.
The one ray of light in an otherwise bleak outcome for the Army private was that he was found not guilty of the single most serious charge against him - that he knowingly "aided the enemy", in practice al-Qaida, by disclosing information to the WikiLeaks website that in turn made it accessible to all users including enemy groups. Lind's decision to avoid setting a precedent by applying the swingeing "aiding the enemy" charge to an official leaker will invoke a sigh of relief from news organisations and civil liberties groups who had feared a guilty verdict would send a chill across public interest journalism.
Lind also found Manning not guilty of having leaked an encrypted copy of a video of a US airstrike in the Farah province of Aghanistan in which many civilians died. Manning's defence team had argued vociferously that he was not the source of this video, though the soldier did admit to later disclosure of an unencrypted version of the video and related documents.
The judge also accepted Manning's version of several of the key dates in the WikiLeaks disclosures, and took off some of the edge from other less serious charges. But the overriding toughness of the verdict remains: the soldier was found guilty in their entirety of 17 out of the 22 counts against him, and of an amended version of four more.
Once the counts are cumulatively added up, the prospects for the Army private are bleak. Barring reduction of sentence for mitigation, which becomes the subject of another mini-trial dedicated to sentencing that starts tomorrow, he will face a substantial chunk of his adult life in military custody.
The consequences for Manning, and for the wider world of whistleblowing and official leaking in the digital age, will take time to sink in.
Bradley Manning's defense attorney David Coombs and Coomb's wife Tanya Monestier arrive at court for the verdict in Manning's military trial at Fort Meade, Maryland. Photograph: Gary Cameron/Reuters
Updated 10m ago

[B]20m ago[/B]
[B]Summary[/B]

[B]Bradley Manning has been found not guilty of aiding the enemy but still faces up to 130 years in prison after being found guilty on several counts of theft and espionage.[/B]
The military judge hearing the case, Army Col Denise Lind, gave her verdict at 1pm on Tuesday. The aiding the enemy charge was the most serious, as it carried a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
However Manning could still face an effective life sentence after being convicted on numerous other counts. He was found guilty of five charges of theft and five charges of espionage as well as other offenses. His convictions carry a maximum sentence of up to 130 years in prison.
Manning's sentencing hearing will begin tomorrow.