Three-Star General Was Behind Harsh Treatment of Bradley Manning

international | rights and freedoms | other press Saturday August 11, 2012 21:23 by pat c

The conditions under which Bradley Manning was held in didn't just originate with low level guards, the orders came from the top. But from Private to General they all collaborated in the maltreatment of Bradley Manning. Full text at link.

An order to submit WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning to harsh and allegedly illegal treatment in prison apparently came from the upper echelons of the Marine Corps. According to military e-mails released to Manning’s defense, a three-star general was the force behind the marching orders to hold Manning as a maximum-custody detainee under prevention-of-injury watch, or POI — orders that resulted in severe conditions at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia, that left Manning isolated and repeatedly mistreated by his guards.

“These e-mails reveal that the senior Brig officer who ordered PFC Manning to be held in MAX and in POI was receiving his marching orders from a three-star general,” Coombs wrote on his blog. “They also reveal that everyone at Quantico was complicit in the unlawful pretrial punishment, from senior officers to enlisted soldier.”

Manning was removed from Quantico in April 2011 and transferred to Leavenworth following heavy criticism and complaints from his defense attorney about how the Marine Corps brig was treating him. The Army tried to downplay the reason for the move at the time, saying there were a number of factors behind the decision, but also didn’t dispute that Manning’s treatment at the brig was one motivating factor.