Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Dear Mr. President,

A few days ago, two people attempted to visit Pfc. Bradley Manning who has been held in the Marine brig at Quantico, Virginia, in solitary confinement, for more than five months. They were carrying with them a petition for more humane treatment of Mr. Manning signed by 42,000 people. My signature was one of those on the petition. However, not only were they unable to deliver the petition to the Commandant, they were denied entrance to the base and detained for two hours without explanation, neither permitted to enter nor leave the base. Their car was towed – the Marine guards refused to accept their proof of insurance - and they were told by the guards who detained them that their orders “came from the top.” One of the visitors, David House has visited Bradley Manning periodically during the five months he has been incarcerated at Quantico. He has never been denied access before, never detained before. It is clear that the isolation of Mr. Manning has been ordered increased and it is also clear that it is a blatant attempt to break him in order to gain false testimony against Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The treatment of Bradley Manning is outrageous, a clear violation of the rule of law, the Constitution, and basic human rights that you vowed to uphold as president. It is yet another moral stain on the country, on you and your administration, and makes a mockery of the justice system and democracy in America. You have done nothing to correct this evil, Mr. President, and by sitting idly by and refusing to release or at least order him to be treated in a humane manner, you are as guilty as those who have ordered his isolation and mistreatment. Mr. Manning is an American citizen being held as a political prisoner without rights and without redress. You lectured the Chinese president recently about observing human rights. It’s time you applied the lecture to yourself and freed Bradley Manning. You have a moral and civic obligation to do so.