London, March 04: The soldier suspected of giving secret US documents to WikiLeaks is an “unparalleled hero”, the website’s founder, Julian Assange, told Britain’s ITV News today.
Supporters of Bradley Manning, 23, claim that the army private is being held “in a hole” at a prison at Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia, a claim the Pentagon has denied.
“For him to now be in prison for 10 months in solitary confinement, without trial, is an abuse,” Assange told the news program.
David Coombs, Manning’s lawyer, admitted that his client was “not technically held in solitary confinement”, but claimed that the soldier was being held in “unduly harsh” conditions.
“He is, whether the charges are true or not, America’s foremost political prisoner,” Assange added. “If these allegations are true, he’s an unparalleled hero.
“Look at what’s happening in the Middle East as a result of some of the material we’ve been publishing.”
David House, a friend who regularly visits Manning in prison, told the program that he believed the US was trying to force the former US intelligence analyst into bringing down Assange.
Private Manning is allowed out of his cell for only one hour a day for exercise outside or at an indoor gym, he said.
“In terms of Bradley Manning’s case, it’s very clear the US government is trying to crack him open with solitary confinement by causing emotional devastation,” Mr House told ITV.
“They’re trying to get him to issue a confession, or false confession, so they can link him to Julian Assange,” he added.
US military authorities brought additional charges against Private Manning yesterday, accusing him of illegally downloading vast numbers of secret government files and “aiding the enemy”.
Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell denied Private Manning was being mistreated, saying today: “There’s 30 people on a U-shaped corridor, so he’s not in a hole. He’s not away from others. He’s allowed to have conversations with others on that corridor.”
“He’s not being treated differently than any other maximum security detainee and not differently really that much from the medium security detainees,” Mr Morrell told MSNBC television, after paying a visit to the brig himself.
Private Manning has been held at the prison since July under a maximum security regimen because authorities say his escape would pose a risk to national security.
“I went down with the (defence) department’s general counsel and came away impressed about how professionally the brig is run at Quantico,” Mr Morrell said.
He added that perhaps reporters should be allowed to visit the prison because he said Private Manning’s advocates have offered a misleading picture of the brig.
——–Agencies