The sentencing hearing for Army whistleblower Bradley Manning begins
today following his acquittal on the most serious charge he faced,
aiding the enemy, but conviction on 20 other counts. On Tuesday, Manning
was found guilty of violating the Espionage Act and other charges for
leaking hundreds of thousands of government documents to WikiLeaks. In
beating the "aiding the enemy" charge, Manning avoids an automatic life
sentence, but he still faces a maximum of 136 years in prison on the
remaining counts. In his first U.S. television interview since the
verdict, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange discusses the Manning "show
trial," the plight of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward
Snowden, and the verdict’s impact on WikiLeaks. "Bradley Manning is now a
martyr," Assange says. "He didn’t choose to be a martyr. I don’t think
it’s a proper way for activists to behave to choose to be martyrs, but
these young men — allegedly in the case of Bradley Manning and clearly
in the case of Edward Snowden — have risked their freedom, risked their
lives, for all of us. That makes them heroes." According to numerous
press reports, the conviction of Manning makes it increasingly likely
that the U.S. will prosecute Assange as a co-conspirator. During the
trial, military prosecutors portrayed Assange as an "information
anarchist" who encouraged Manning to leak hundreds of thousands of
classified military and diplomatic documents.
Video
Source: democracynow.org
Author: --
Video
Source: democracynow.org
Author: --
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