August, 21 2013, 03:25pm EDT
Manning Site Launches: Pardon.BradleyManning.org
David Coombs, chief attorney for WikiLeaks whistle-blower Pfc. Bradley Manning, announced at a press conference near Ft. Meade, MD, today that he is formally applying for a Presidential Pardon for Bradley Manning. Coombs is seeking Manning's immediate release or at the very least, a commutation to a sentence of time already served.
WASHINGTON
David Coombs, chief attorney for WikiLeaks whistle-blower Pfc. Bradley Manning, announced at a press conference near Ft. Meade, MD, today that he is formally applying for a Presidential Pardon for Bradley Manning. Coombs is seeking Manning's immediate release or at the very least, a commutation to a sentence of time already served.
In conjunction with that announcement, the Bradley Manning Support Network has launched Pardon.BradleyManning.org, which connects to a petition co-written by Amnesty International, as well as a video with testimony from veterans and civilians from Iraq and Afghanistan. This site will link to the defense's official application for pardon as soon as it's available.
"I'm hoping that the president does the right thing and pardons Bradley Manning," Coombs said upon the website's launch.
Manning was sentenced on Wednesday to 35 years in military confinement, after a conviction on several counts of Espionage, Computer Fraud, and Federal theft. None of those who perpetrated the torture and other war crimes he exposed have been prosecuted.
President Barack Obama campaigned in 2008 on a platform of transparency and accountability in government, and we are calling on him to uphold these values by freeing Bradley Manning today. The documents Manning released should not have been withheld from the American people, and he disclosed them in order to spark a national debate on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Chelsea Manning Support Network was a coalition of groups and individuals engaged in supporting the U.S. Army whistleblower.
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