GPJC Marches for Bradley Manning in MLK March this Year
The Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition (GPJC) marched in the annual King March for the freedom of PFC Bradley Manning, to end the wars and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, to bring all the troops hom,e and to bring to justice the US perpetrators of war crimes.
Manning, the 23-year-old Army private accused of leaking classified information to Wikileaks, has been held at Quantico Marine Corp Base for five months in inhumane conditions.
Pfc. Bradley has been held in solitary confinement since July, 2010. He is held in his cell for 23 hours a day, he is forbidden from exercising in his cell and forbidden to sleep during the day and often has his sleep disrupted at night.
Manning has not been convicted of any crime and has not been given a date for any court hearing.
Psychologists for Social Responsibility in an open letter to Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, stated, “…based on the exhaustive documentation and research that have determined solitary confinement is a form of cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment in violation of U.S. law.”
Below is a copy of the informational flyer GPJC passed out to the crowd during the King March:
Please read and support PFC Bradley Manning.
FREE PFC BRADLEY MANNING NOW!
A 23-year-old Army intelligence analyst, Pfc. Manning faces decades in prison for allegedly leaking a video of a US helicopter attack that killed at least eleven Iraqi civilians to the website Wikileaks. In addition to this “Collateral Murder” video, Pfc. Manning is suspected of leaking the “Afghan War Diaries” – tens of thousands of battlefield reports that explicitly describe civilian deaths and cover-ups, corrupt officials, collusion with warlords, and a failing US/NATO war effort.
Manning has not yet been tried or convicted of any crime, but he’s been incarcerated since May 2010. He is currently sitting in a prison in Quantico, VA, in solitary confinement. He is held inside his cell for 23 hours a day under constant surveillance. He has not ever been on suicide-watch, but is not allowed to have sheets or a pillow.
We believe that without the efforts of people like Bradley Manning who risk prosecution to show the truth, the information we need to hold our government accountable may never be made public. The latest leak reveals “evidence of war crimes.” Yet no soldiers involved in the videotaped killings of civilians have faced charges. No top-level officials in the Bush and Obama administrations have been held accountable, or even investigated, for their roles in potential war crimes. But whistleblower Bradley Manning sits in jail.
If the military charges against him are accurate, they show that he had a reasonable belief that war crimes were being covered up, and that he took action based on a crisis of conscience. If Bradley Manning is indeed the source of these materials, the nation owes him our gratitude.
Soldiers sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution. Bradley Manning has been defending and supporting our Constitution.”
—Dan Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower
DONATE to Bradley Manning defense funds: Donations towards Bradley’s defense can be made at bradleymanning.org — to either the Support Network for both public education efforts and legal defense, or directly to Bradley’s legal trust account.
END the Wars and Occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan! BRING the Troops Home Now!
BRING to Justice the U.S. Perpetrators of War Crimes! FREE Bradley Manning!!
Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition/ Atlanta www.georgiapeace.org