UN Diplomat, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Amnesty International: All refused unsupervised visits with Bradley Manning. The thugs in the Pentagon are an insecure bunch.

A UN diplomat denied a private meeting with accused whistleblower Bradley Manning said he was "deeply disappointed and and frustrated" by the US state department's decision. The US defense dept officials say that he cannot visit Manning without being monitored and that any visits to Manning must be "supervised."

The UN official wants to see Manning to determine his condition and whether his treatment amounts to torture.  Manning has been forced to strip naked and sleep naked. The diplomat, Juan Mendez told the media today, “My request . . . is not onerous: for my part, a monitored conversation would not comply with the practices that my mandate applies in every country and detention center visited,”. This is the new America though Mr. Mendez.

The military is justifying it's treatment of Manning as a “prevention of injury”. This is nonsense of course. Bradley Manning's treatment is a warning to all service personnel in the US ,military to keep their mouths shut.  Manning spends 23 hours a day in the cell with one hour for exercise but is not allowed contact with other prisoners.

His captors say that they are not breaking US law or Defense Department regs.  This is the usual excuse in these situations, the same laws apply when people die through lack of medical care or shelter.  There is no law guaranteeing that you can get a doctor or a roof over your head if you need one.

“I cannot be sure Manning is being absolutely candid and honest with me if he knows that he’s being monitored,” said Mendez of the conditions under which he is supposed to visit Manning: Well, yeah!  Basic stuff.  But the US military, the folks with the big stick, don't care.    Just like they don't care that confessions are obtained and sentences passed on people after torturing them.

Check the Labels to the right for more on Manning and to get a speaker to your event or  Union hall which is of particular importance, contact Courage to Resist. Here is a video from an earlier blog with some information from a person who has visited Manning. It was taken at a rally supporting Manning in SF.  Also, here is another interview with a friend of Manning's who has visited him on more than one occasion. What a situation.  The war criminals are free and the heroic person that is accused of exposing them is being tortured in a US prison.  The mass murderer Rumsfeld is even making more loot with a book deal.

Free Bradley Manning    Defend Wikileaks.