Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime.  Despite that, he has been detained at the U.S. Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia for five months -- and for two months before that in a military jail in Kuwait -- under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and, by the standards of many nations, even torture.  Interviews with several people directly familiar with the conditions of Manning's detention, ultimately including a Quantico brig official (Lt. Brian Villiard) who confirmed much of what they conveyed, establishes that the accused leaker is subjected to detention conditions likely to create long-term psychological injuries.

Since his arrest in May, Manning has been a model detainee, without any episodes of violence or disciplinary problems.  He nonetheless was declared from the start to be a "Maximum Custody Detainee," the highest and most repressive level of military detention, which then became the basis for the series of inhumane measures imposed on him.

From the beginning of his detention, Manning has been held in intensive solitary confinement.  For 23 out of 24 hours every day -- for seven straight months and counting -- he sits completely alone in his cell.  Even inside his cell, his activities are heavily restricted; he's barred even from exercising and is under constant surveillance to enforce those restrictions.  For reasons that appear completely punitive, he's being denied many of the most basic attributes of civilized imprisonment, including even a pillow or sheets for his bed (he is not and never has been on suicide watch).  For the one hour per day when he is freed from this isolation, he is barred from accessing any news or current events programs.  Lt. Villiard protested that the conditions are not "like jail movies where someone gets thrown into the hole," but confirmed that he is in solitary confinement, entirely alone in his cell except for the one hour per day he is taken out.

In sum, Manning has been subjected for many months without pause to inhumane, personality-erasing, soul-destroying, insanity-inducing conditions of isolation similar to those perfected at America's Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado:  all without so much as having been convicted of anything.

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AR 380-5 Chapter VI Compromise of Classified Information


AR 380-5 6-100. Policy
Compromise of classified information presents a threat to the
national security. Once a compromise is known to have occurred,
the seriousness of damage to U.S. interests must be determined and
appropriate measures taken to negate or minimize the adverse
effect of such compromise. When possible, action also should be
taken to regain custody of the documents or material that were
compromised. In all cases, however, appropriate action must be
taken to identify the source and reason for the compromise and
remedial action taken to ensure further compromises do not occur.
The provisions of DoD Instruction 5240.4 and DoD Directive 5210.50
(references (jj) and (kk)) apply to compromises covered by this
Chapter.

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ORIGINAL: wittynamehere

The fact that America tortures and condones torture is old news. I don't mean old rumour, I mean old news. Confirmed and admitted, at least a year ago, and several times since. This latest tidbit isn't really news, sorry!

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ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY

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ORIGINAL: wittynamehere

The fact that America tortures and condones torture is old news. I don't mean old rumour, I mean old news. Confirmed and admitted, at least a year ago, and several times since. This latest tidbit isn't really news, sorry!

hmmm, this sounds suspiciously like "It torture when Bush and the Republicans do it, but not when Obama and the Democrats do it."

Firm

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hmmm, this sounds suspiciously like "It torture when Bush and the Republicans do it, but not when Obama and the Democrats do it."

Firm

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

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hmmm, this sounds suspiciously like "It torture when Bush and the Republicans do it, but not when Obama and the Democrats do it."

Firm

No, that sounds suspiciously like that's where you'd like to steer the discussion.

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ORIGINAL: servantforuse

They never drowned a prisoner. They just made them think they were drowning. Besides that, it only was done three times.

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ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY

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ORIGINAL: wittynamehere

The fact that America tortures and condones torture is old news. I don't mean old rumour, I mean old news. Confirmed and admitted, at least a year ago, and several times since. This latest tidbit isn't really news, sorry!

hmmm, this sounds suspiciously like "It torture when Bush and the Republicans do it, but not when Obama and the Democrats do it."

Firm

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ORIGINAL: servantforuse

They never drowned a prisoner. They just made them think they were drowning. Besides that, it only was done three times. They could have had their heads chopped off like they do to their prisoners.

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ORIGINAL: servantforuse

They never drowned a prisoner. They just made them think they were drowning. Besides that, it only was done three times. They could have had their heads chopped off like they do to their prisoners.