I am very concerned about the health and welfare of Pvt Bradley Manning. I take great stock in the work of Amnesty International and when the United States is on the wrong side of Amnesty International itshould be a concern of all Americans.
Several folks here have seemed to waive off all human rights concerns citing the UCMJ as the authority for their position. I decided to go to the statutes myself and surprise, surprise protections for Pvt Manning are clearly set forth in the current Code.
see below for the quoted code
Title 10 > Subtitle A > PART II > CHAPTER 47 > SUBCHAPTER II > § 813
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§ 813. Art. 13. Punishment prohibited before trial
No person, while being held for trial, may be subjected to punishment or penalty other than arrest or confinement upon the charges pending against him, nor shall the arrest or confinement imposed upon him be any more rigorous than the circumstances require to insure his presence, but he may be subjected to minor punishment during that period for infractions of discipline.
The above is from Chapter 47 Apprehension and Restraint on cornell law school's legal research site.
So for folks who seem to content to cite the charging document and cite generically to the UCMJ as to the proposition that as lonng as a soldier enlisted any pre-sentencing treatment of the accused is acceptable, here is a specific code section enumerating the prohibition on exactly the kind of treatment on Pvt Manning, who has been found to be neither a risk to the health of others, nor himself by a psychologist. Instead, his unqualified prison commander at Quantico signed a medical order placing him on suicide watch over the weekend putting even more restrictive conditions for 48 hours apparently as punishment for House & Benjamin's protest of his confinement, and cancelling the order after world wide protest.
Folks, this has gone on too long. if you have not already done so, please head over to Fire Dog Lake and sign their petitionManning Petition
I called my members of Congress earlier in the week. Senator Merkeley and Rep. blumenaur's staff were at least aware of the Manning issue, but unaware of any official position on it by their bosses. The staffer at Wyden's office suggested to me that this wasn't a matter for the Senator, but said she would pass on my concerns.
Thanks for reading. I'll be around for a couple hours to respond in the comments.