Just in – Bradley Manning was found guilty by a military judge of all counts except for the most severe of “aiding the enemy.”
For the “crime” of exposing US war crimes, the 25-year-old whistleblower now faces the possibility of 136 years in prison.
As Amnesty International said in its reaction: “It’s hard not to draw the conclusion that Manning’s trial was about sending a message: the US government will come after you, no holds barred, if you’re thinking of revealing evidence of its unlawful behavior.”
Read the news here: www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/07/30-6
And a collection of reactions to it here: www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/07/30-9
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Hi folks,
The verdict in the Bradley Manning show trial is due to be handed down by a US Military judge tomorrow morning at 03:00 am AEST. The verdict will be followed by a sentencing phase: Manning faces a maximum penalty of life plus 154 years in a military prison.
Our Brisbane rally will go ahead this Thursday 4-5:30 pm in King Georges Square.
Manning has already pleaded guilty to many charges, but not to others including the critical “aiding the enemy” charge (where “the enemy” is Al Quaeda: another “enemy” whose identity was “classified” has been dropped from the case). Julian Assange and WikiLeaks have been mentioned repeatedly throughout the case, and it seems certain the USA will also be seeking to charge Assange and WikiLeaks with “aiding the enemy” when the Grand Jury’s sealed indictment is opened.
This is chilling news for whistle-blowers and freedom of speech. Manning’s prosecutors admitted they would still be pursuing the “aiding the enemy” charge even if his leaks had been published by the New York Times instead of WikiLeaks (ironically, NYT did help publish the leaks but is not – yet – being pursued).
More details on the Manning case here:
PLEA FOR HELP ON ELECTION DAY
The WikiLeaks Party have announced their Senate candidates! Julian Assange will be sitting for election in Victoria, with six other outstanding candidates in Victoria, NSW and WA. Details here:
http://www.wikileaksparty.org.au/candidates/
We are still waiting for an Australian election date but the WikiLeaks Party is already organising volunteers to hand out How To Vote flyers at election booths. I am co-ordinating volunteers for the Northern NSW area and I need your help!
We want to get a few cars with volunteers from Brisbane and the Gold Coast to man booths in Lismore, Murwillimbah, Mullumbimby, Byron Bay and other locations (numbers permitting).
Please reply to this email to let me know if you want to be involved. If you have any idea at this stage, you can also let me know how many people you can bring, whether you have spare seats in your car for others, or whether you will need transport. I will supply the How To Vote cards, organise transport and more information as we get closer to Election Day.
It should be a fun day for all in a great part of Australia!
Gary Lord
@Jaraparilla