Plea over WikiLeaks jail 'Briton'

[Joanne98]

Source: UKPA

The Government has been called upon to intervene in the case of a soldier held in a US jail on suspicion of passing state secrets to WikiLeaks - on the grounds that he is part-British.

Bradley Manning, a private in the US Army, went to school in Haverfordwest, Wales, where his mother still lives.

He has been accused of passing hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables to the whistleblowing website.

Amnesty International argued that his Welsh parentage meant that the British Government should step in in the wake of reports about the harsh conditions of his detention.



Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gzcoKWTAnhqi-Cy_amq1dfPItHkQ?docId=N0496071296597487984A

[elias49]

1. Wow!! I like THIS!!

[Robb]

2. Daliwch ati!

Pob lwc! :D

[Historic NY]

3. He was born in Crescent, Oklahoma.

[CHIMO]

4. Bradley Manning is UK citizen and needs protection, government told

Source: guardian.co.uk

The British government is under pressure to take up the case of Bradley Manning, the soldier being held in a maximum security military prison in Virginia on suspicion of having passed a massive trove of US state secrets to WikiLeaks, on the grounds that he is a UK citizen.

Amnesty International tonight called on the government to intervene on Manning's behalf and demand that the conditions of his detention, which the organisation has called "harsh and punitive", are in line with international standards. Amnesty's UK director, Kate Allen, said: "His Welsh parentage means the UK government should demand that his 'maximum custody' status does not impair his ability to defend himself, and we would also like to see Foreign Office officials visiting him just as they would any other British person detained overseas and potentially facing trial on very serious charges."

Clive Stafford Smith, director of Reprieve, which provides legal assistance to those facing capital punishment and secret imprisonment, likened the conditions under which Manning is being held to Guantánamo Bay. "The government took a principled stance on Guantánamo cases even for British residents, let alone citizens, so you would expect it to take the same stance with Manning."

Manning is a UK citizen by descent from his Welsh mother, Susan. Government databases on births, deaths and marriages show that she was born Susan Fox in Haverfordwest in 1953. She married a then US serviceman, Brian Manning, stationed at a military base near the city and they had a daughter, Casey, in the same year. Bradley was born in Oklahoma in 1987.



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/01/bradley-manning-uk-citizen

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. US does not recognize dual citizenship

[DavidDvorkin]

6. Yes it does.

[Robb]

7. Sort of.

From http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html">State:

...A U.S. citizen may acquire foreign citizenship by marriage, or a person naturalized as a U.S. citizen may not lose the citizenship of the country of birth.U.S. law does not mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one citizenship or another. Also, a person who is automatically granted another citizenship does not risk losing U.S. citizenship. However, a person who acquires a foreign citizenship by applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship. In order to lose U.S. citizenship, the law requires that the person must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up U.S. citizenship.

Intent can be shown by the person's statements or conduct.The U.S. Government recognizes that dual nationality exists but does not encourage it as a matter of policy because of the problems it may cause. Claims of other countries on dual national U.S. citizens may conflict with U.S. law, and dual nationality may limit U.S. Government efforts to assist citizens abroad. The country where a dual national is located generally has a stronger claim to that person's allegiance.

However, dual nationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country. They are required to obey the laws of both countries. Either country has the right to enforce its laws, particularly if the person later travels there.Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave that country. Use of the foreign passport does not endanger U.S. citizenship.Most countries permit a person to renounce or otherwise lose citizenship....

[Matilda]

8. The British Home Office website says it will not give diplomatic help

to citizens with dual nationality when they are in the country of their other citizenship. And if Manning has
never previously applied for British citizenship, I think it would give the British a good excuse not to help.

I don't rate his chances with the British very high.

[TheMadMonk]

9. I know it "Sounds like a plan." but how is using what is a rather flimsy pretext...

...like this any different to "one of THEM" (or a "Soprano", or a Koch, etc) using legal technicalities to avoid their just deserts? Not to say Manning is deserving of anything. I'm merely

Yes the conditions he is reported to be suffering do border on (if not cross the line into) outright torture. But Britain intervening on his behalf using the pretext of a privilege never asked for or exercised is not the way to go about aleviating those conditions. Any number of legitmate parties are working on Manning's behalf. And not one of them will get anywhere on the matter whilst Manning remains usesful as a posterchild "example" for others who might be considering doing the same thing.

What you characterise as an "excuse" is simply sound foreign policy, the "custodial nation" gets first spanking privileges. Doing nothing is simply far less likely to spark a diplomatic incident than any active intervention.