The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
April 11, 2013

Military Court Raises Burden for Manning Prosecutors; Internet, Phone Access Curbed 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 
A military judge has raised the burden of proof for military prosecutors
in their effort to win a conviction of Army whistleblower Bradley
Manning. On Wednesday, Col. Denise Lind said prosecutors must prove
Manning had "reason to believe" the files he gave to Wiki Leaks could
have been used to harm the United States or aid its enemies. Prosecutors
had argued they should only have to prove Manning knowingly and
willfully disclosed the files. Lind did grant prosecutors' request to
submit evidence showing Osama bin Laden had copies of some of the files
released by Wiki Leaks at his Pakistan compound. Prosecutors are
expected to call one of the commandos involved in the bin Laden raid as
a witness, though his identity will be concealed. Military officials,
meanwhile, have announced a ban on all cellphones and Internet access at
the trial's media center. The move comes in response to the disclosure
of secretly recorded audio of Bradley Manning's statement to the court
in February. Manning's comments were released by the Freedom of the
Press Foundation and broadcast here on Democracy Now! March 12.

 

.