The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Current affairs

WikiLeaks soldier Bradley Manning pleads guilty to ten charges‏

WikiLeaks soldier Bradley Manning pleads guilty to ten charges‏
2 March 2013
Patrick Corby
Avatar
Patrick Corby
2 March 2013

Private First Class Bradley Manning, the 25 year old US information officer who was accused of leaking sensitive documents to the whistle-blowing body Wikileaks, has pleaded guilty to ten of the 22 charges brought against him in a US court yesterday.

Manning’s early guilty pleas to ten of his lesser charges, including unlawful storing and distribution of classified military information, have been accepted.

The judge, however, is still reviewing the other 12 pleas for June 3rd  with most attention being placed on the charge of aiding the enemy.

After his plea was read to the court by his lawyer, David Combes, Manning admitted guilt for the first time in court.

He then proceeded to read a 35 page statement to the court to explain why he risked his life to release the information.

“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,”Manning told a military court.

The officer explained how he first approached respected platforms such as The Washington Post and The New York Times, both of which would eventually release the information in collaboration with Wikileaks, but got turned down personally. He then started transference to the then little known but accessible Wikileaks.

Transferred content from military databases The Combined Information Data Network Exchange Iraq and the Combined Information Data Network Exchange Afghanistan included a video showing the killings of innocent Reuters reporters, photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant Saeed Chmagh, 40, during a US Apache helicopter mission.

Additional content included Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, US diplomatic cables that internally recorded US communications and files on detainees in Guantanamo.

“This was the type of information…  that should become public,” said Manning, though he denied that he “believed such information could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation”.

“I believe that if the general public … had access to the information … this could spark a domestic debate as to the role of the military and foreign policy in general,” Private Manning testified, dressed in full military uniform.

Bradley Manning now faces a possible 20 years inside prison for the lesser charges he pleaded guilty to. More serious charges will be ruled on June 3rd.

Patrick Corby

Related Items

More in Current Affairs

Changes to expect during menopause

The editorial unit
Read More

Nek brings Italian pop rock to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire

The editorial unit
Read More

Why Equity Linked Savings Schemes is a preferred tax saving?

The editorial unit
Read More

How the world’s top designers would rebrand political parties

The editorial unit
Read More

Royal baby furore: Proof that the British monarchy is still popular?

Eoin O’Sullivan-Harris
Read More

World Mental Health Day 2018: Raising awareness and combating stigma

The editorial unit
Read More

Seven political personalities you should know about

The editorial unit
Read More

Donald Trump: An enemy of the arts?

The editorial unit
Read More

Trump’s fortune: Where did the money come from?

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • Persian Lessons
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Lonely the Brave – The Hope List
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • 23 Walks
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Investigation underway after South African man was handcuffed to a moving police van
Obama gives the go-ahead to $85 bn austerity cuts‏