Time for Change 20121220 One chance to make sure Bradley gets a fair trial

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We just received a $10,000 end-of-year matching grant! A very generous anonymous donor has pledged to basically double your donation today.

Dear Friend of Bradley Manning,

This Monday, Bradley Manning turned 25, celebrating his third birthday in prison while awaiting trial for releasing important documents to the public via WikiLeaks. The government has delayed Brad’s court martial for over two years. But now we have big news: his court marital is expected to start in March 2013.

All donations will be matched one-to-one until the end of December!

We’re writing today because we need your help to raise enough money for Brad’s trial expenses. We’ve had a generous donor offer to match the first $10,000 donated in December. Please make a donation so we can ensure Bradley Manning has the best defense possible when he goes to court.

We just finished a major hearing in Maryland. For the first time, Brad’s lawyer, David Coombs, presented evidence that showed the abusive conditions Brad was held in for eleven months.In court, Coombs showed that Brad was kept on enforced “suicide watch,” against the recommendations of psychiatrists. This included solitary confinement with no access to sunlight, eyeglasses and clothing taken away, and even extreme humiliation such as being forced to stand nude for morning inspection. As Coombs stated:

“Brad’s treatment at Quantico will forever be etched, I believe, in our nation’s history, as a disgraceful moment in time. Not only was it stupid and counterproductive. It was criminal.”

Thanks to your support – financial and otherwise – we’ve helped fund the legal defense that allowed all of this evidence of torturous treatment to be submitted in pretrial hearings, giving Brad a real chance at seeing justice.

But the court martial will be our toughest battle yet – weeks of cross-examinations, evidence, and testimony will be presented. We are expecting this trial to last far longer than a normal court
martial, potentially lasting for three or four months.

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We’ve already accomplished so much because of dedicated supporters like you, including:

  • Ended Brad’s illegal, inhuman, and unjust solitary confinement at Quantico, which was criticized by torture experts around the world;

  • Successfully created publicity around Bradley Manning to pressure the army to transfer him out of a military prison in Kuwait, where he was held for two months in what he described in

    testimony as a “cage”;

  • Provided Bradley Manning with a top-notch civilian attorney of his own choosing;

  • Committed to paying all of Brad’s legal fees so that his family didn’t have to go into extensive debt or mortgage their home to afford his defense;

  • Organized and coordinated protests and vigils in dozens of cities around the world;

  • Worked with the media to ensure that Bradley Manning was a name recognized in households all over the world;

  • Provided detailed coverage of the Brad’s hearings through our website, to ensure the public has a virtual front row seat to this momentous trial;

Just to cover the costs of the trial, we need to raise at least $75,000. We’ll need even more to organize protests and public events around the trial. Can you please pitch in? Every bit helps.

It’s been a challenging and inspiring two years, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the dedication and unstinting tenacity of our supporters.

2013 is going to be historic. Let’s make sure we have the resources – financial and otherwise – to ensure Brad has the best defense possible.

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Help us defend Bradley Manning – and the right of the public to know the truth – by making a donation today.

Thank you for all that you do,

Loraine Reitman
Co-founder and Steering Committee Member
Bradley Manning Support Network

P.S. We’re a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.

http://www.bradleymanning.org/

Website: http://english.despertando.me/?p=11611

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