Washington, January 13: A US military tribunal has said Army Intelligence analyst Private Bradley Manning, suspected of leaking classified information to Wikileaks, should face a court martial.
In a Thursday statement, head of the tribunal Lieutenant Colonel Paul Almanza said that “reasonable grounds exist to believe that the accused committed the offences alleged.”
Almanza recommended that “the charges be referred to a general court martial” on the accusations of leaking thousands of documents and “aiding the enemy.”
The Private appeared for a pre-trial hearing in December, in which prosecutors pushed for a court martial.
Manning, 24, was arrested in May, 2010 in connection with the leak.
The early conditions of his confinement reportedly drew international concern. His lawyers said he was subjected to 24-hour surveillance and was forced to stand naked at roll call. A top US state department spokesman, PJ Crowley, resigned after saying the military’s treatment of the Wikileaks suspect was “ridiculous and counterproductive.”
If convicted, Manning could face life imprisonment.
——Agencies