WikiLeaks: three years on, trial of Bradley Manning finally set to begin
(The Telegraph) – The trial of the US soldier accused of smuggling thousands of secret documents to WikiLeaks will open in a military court on Monday, where he faces charges of helping al-Qaeda in its struggle against America.
More than three years after the anti-secrecy website began publishing a trove of classified US government documents, Private First Class Bradley Manning will appear for the start of his long-delayed court martial.
The 25-year-old soldier faces life imprisonment if military prosecutors successfully argue that the largest intelligence leak in American history also aided al-Qaeda’s efforts to wage jihad.
Prosecutors are expected to call a US Navy Seal who took part in the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound as they try to prove that the terror leader made use of the leaked documents.
The commando, referred to only as “John Doe”, will testify from a secret location and will wear a disguise as he offers evidence about computers found at bin Laden’s base in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Pfc Manning has previously admitted being responsible for the leak and already faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to lesser charges against him.
However, he denies that the leak aided al-Qaeda and instead offered an impassioned defence of his actions, which he said were intended to expose the “bloodlust” of the US military.
“I wanted the American public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan was a target that needed to be engaged and neutralised but people struggling to live in the pressure cooker of asymmetric warfare,” he said during a February court appearance.
