Bradley Manning Supporters Heading To Ft. Leavenworth

Supporters of Pfc. Bradley Manning, the American serviceman suspected of leaking secret documents to the whistleblower site WikiLeaks, will rally this Saturday outside of Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, the site of his detainment.

Manning, 23, was transferred to the facility last month after being held in maximum custody for nine months on the Quantico Marine Corps. Base in Virginia. There, supporters and human rights activists say, he was subjected to mistreatment, which included being held in solitary confinement for inappropriate period of time and being forced to strip naked.

The Defense Department has denied that Manning was treated poorly or differently from any other detainee on the facility.

Many of his supporters are now calling for charges against Manning to be dropped, a demand based on his conditions and comments that President Barack Obama made, wherein Obama flatly said that Manning broke the law. Supporters argue that this compromises Manning’s ability to receive a fair trial.

“Due process and the assumption of innocence are principles we soldiers are sworn to defend, but PFC Bradley Manning has already been declared guilty by our Commander in Chief,” William Stewart-Starks, an organizer for Saturday’s rally and Regional Coordinator for the organization Iraq Veterans Against the War.

The rally will be the first large-scale demonstration since Manning was transferred.