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Bradley Manning (R) arrives at a military court on July 30, 2013 at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland/AFP

World

Wikileaks’ source Manning faces day of judgment

“Bradley Manning exposed war crimes and they put him on trial for it,” he declared.

“If they find him guilty of aiding the enemy that means, in their eyes, that the American people are the enemy. I am fearing the worst.”

Manning was serving as an intelligence analyst in Iraq when he sent Julian Assange’s anti secrecy website WikiLeaks a cache of secret diplomatic cables and classified military reports from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 25 year old has admitted giving the site some 700,000 documents, pleading guilty to 10 lesser charges, including espionage and computer fraud, which could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

But Manning has denied other charges, including the most serious one that he knowingly helped enemies of the United States, most notably Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.

To find Manning guilty of “aiding the enemy,” the judge must be convinced, beyond reasonable doubt, that the soldier knew the documents he leaked could end up in the hands of Al-Qaeda.

Even without being found guilty of this, the other charges could add up to 154 years imprisonment. The sentencing phase of the trial could begin as early as Wednesday

In closing arguments, defense attorney David Coombs said Manning was no traitor but a “young, naive and good intentioned” citizen who wanted to encourage public debate about US foreign policy.

In a preliminary hearing in February, Manning read a long letter justifying his actions, in which he spoke of the “bloodlust” exhibited by a US Apache helicopter crew who gunned down a group of Iraqis in Baghdad.

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But the prosecution insists Manning recklessly betrayed his uniform and his country by leaking documents he knew Al-Qaeda would see and use.

“He was not a troubled young soul, he was a determined soldier with the knowledge, ability and desire to harm the United States in its war effort,” lead prosecutor Major Ashden Fein told the court.

“Your honor, he was not a whistleblower, he was a traitor.”

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