Saturday, January 15, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

I just read where Pfc. Bradley Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, has petitioned the military to release his client from pretrial detention. A small squib in this morning’s New York Times. Not much more than a filler. Had this been about Julian Assange, I’m sure it would have been a much more extensive article, but that’s the way it works for those without the clout and money of well-placed friends. Mr. Coombs’ petition, like his earlier demand that Manning’s harsh treatment be eased, will probably also be ignored by the military. Manning has yet to have a pretrial hearing let alone be convicted of a crime, and his seven-plus months in solitary confinement is not only unprecedented but morally repellant. The conditions under which he has been and is currently being held are no different than the conditions under which terrorists are held at Guantanamo Bay, another indelible moral stain on America. Solitary confinement for extended periods of time is inhumane, is barbaric, is torture. The military claims he is not being held in solitary confinement, but “Special Quarters 2,” is effectively solitary confinement. They say he gets an hour a day to exercise, but his “exercise” is confined to walking in a bare room and the minute he says he does not want to walk he is returned to his cell. They say he is checked every five minutes by guards to make sure he does not harm himself but they do not say he is required to respond “Yes” to them every time. Who should we believe, the military or his lawyer, family and friends? No question there, Mr. President. We – and you – have been lied to by the military over and over again. Bradley Manning is no threat to himself, to others, to national security or to prison security. There is no reason to place him under these harsh and inhumane conditions except to break him psychologically in an attempt to gain (false) testimony that implicates WikiLeaks and Julian Assange so your (in)Justice people will finally have their case against them and shut them down. You are the commander-in-chief, Mr. President. You vowed to stop this kind of thing. So stop it! Now! All it takes is your order to release him. Do it. Show some compassion, some sense of justice.

Free Bradley Manning!