Whistleblower Bradley Manning faces 136-year sentence as US military court convicts him of 19 espionage charges

 
Staff|Agency31 July 2013

The US solider who admitted leaking confidential documents to WikiLeaks was convicted of 19 charges by a military court.

Bradley Manning was yesterday cleared of "aiding the enemy" but could still face spending the rest of his life in prison for his part in the publication of thousands of classified government files.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has attacked Manning's conviction, calling him a "hero".

Speaking inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London, Mr Assange said the conviction by a military court set a "dangerous precedent".

The Australian, who has been inside the embassy for over a year to avoid extradition to Sweden, said he took no solace from Manning's acquittal on the most dangerous charge of aiding the enemy.

Mr Assange said the only victim in the case had been the US government's "wounded pride", adding that Manning's disclosures had helped spark the Arab Spring.

"This was never a fair trial," he told a small group of news agencies, including the Press Association.

He criticised the treatment of the US soldier since his arrest in 2010, saying he had been stripped, kept isolated and in a cage to "break" him.

The sentencing process will begin today but Mr Assange said there were two appeals within the US justice system as well as the Supreme Court.

"WikiLeaks will not rest until he is free."

Mr Assange said the aiding an enemy charge was "absurd", put forward as a "red herring" to detract from the other charges.

He described the soldier as the best journalistic source the world had ever seen, uncovering war crimes in Iraq which he maintained had led to the removal of US troops from that country.

His disclosures had led to a "backlash" against the US Government and had been followed by the leaking of sensitive information by Edward Snowden about the US's surveillance.

Asked about the role of his whistleblowing website in the Manning case, Mr Assange said: "We are pleased that throughout this case no evidence was produced from WikiLeaks against Bradley Manning.

"The allegation against him is that he spoke to a US informer who turned him in. Our processes have been successful.

"It is of great concern to us to see any national security source victimised, but we have chosen not to enter into a debate over whether he is one of our sources."

Mr Assange said the only just outcome would have been acquittal on all the charges, saying conviction was a "clear abuse" of the First Amendment and Espionage Act in the US.

He described the actions of Manning as "unquestionably heroic".

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