Protests mount over treatment of alleged WikiLeaks soldier

[EFerrari]

updated 1/6/2011 5:37:02 PM ET 2011-01-06T22:37:02

Rights advocates, government watchdogs and supporters of alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning say they're becoming increasingly alarmed that the conditions under which the 22-year-old Army private is being held could amount to torture.

In the latest public pronouncements calling attention to Manning's plight, the Psychologists for Social Responsibility this week sent an open letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying it is "deeply concerned" about Manning's confinement conditions at a military prison at Quantico, Va.

"As an organization of psychologists and other mental health professionals, PsySR is aware that solitary confinement can have severely deleterious effects on the psychological well-being of those subjected to it," the group said. "We therefore call for a revision in the conditions of PFC Manning’s incarceration while he awaits trial, based on the exhaustive documentation and research that have determined that solitary confinement is, at the very least, a form of cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment in violation of U.S. law."

The letter deplores the "needless brutality" of Manning's conditions and says they undermine his right to a fair trial.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40947483/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/

[slay]

1. K&R

It's really fucked up what they - no strike that - WE - are doing to him. Ugh. :puke:

[EFerrari]

2. It was good to see this in the corporate media.

Imagine how loud the net got for that to happen. :toast:

[Gregorian]

3. I was thinking the same thing.

Msnbc?

It's history. The man is a hero. And I don't mean that lightly. You'd never know it with the muffler the right wing put on the media in this country.

[leftstreet]

4. Why am I suspicious of this...

Very surprised and glad to see it get M$M coverage, BUT you have to ask yourself why...

I certainly hope it's not just another way to float propaganda - get the peons arguing that Manning deserves his torture cuz he's a treasonous terrifying terra-ist, blah, blah, blah

Thanks for posting

[sabrina 1]

5. No one has to encourage the radical right to call for the torture

and assassination of whistle-blowers who blow their image of our 'glorious crusades' abroad.

I can't see any negative effect coming from the media reporting on this. IF they include the fact that Manning tried to report war crimes to his superiors, but was ignored.

Iow, thinking people who are not knee-jerk reactors and who value our laws, even if they think he did wrong, would never approve of torturing a suspect, making him incapable of defending himself.

The others you mention, they are loud, but imo, but thankfully from the lunatic fringes of this society and that includes Sarah Palin, Huckabee, Joe Liebermann and anyone else who is attempting to deprive the public of the truth.

[EFerrari]

7. I don't trust them, either. n/t

[pacalo]

6. I watched the video at the end of the article in which a friend of Bradley's

was interviewed on the Dylan Ratigan show. He said Bradley is a very humble person who didn't bring up his conditions until it was brought up at the end of the visit; after hearing about it, the friend said he'd have pushed him to talk about it much earlier on.

The friend said if the allegations are true of Bradley, then he's an ethical giant. The leaks are very much in line with American principles.