Portrait of Pfc. Bradley Manning, by Debra Van Poolen on auction! 80% of proceeds go to the defense fund.

A courtroom art auction has begun to raise funds for Bradley’s defense. The auction will run up until July 27th, the worldwide day of action for Bradley Manning. This week art by Debra Van Poolen is being auctioned through Ebay. 80% of the proceeds will go to Bradley’s defense. 

Check out the art and read more about the artists involved! 

Yesterday Bradley Manning’s defense began its arguments. More than 70 supporters came out to hold a morning vigil before surprising an unprepared military who scrambled to provide seating in the overflow trailer. The court session began with a powerful and emotional viewing of the Collateral Murder video, the apache gunship video that reveals the murder of two Reuters journalists and civilians. It was shown in its entirety. The video was unfortunately not introduced as evidence of war crimes, but rather to argue that it had not been “closely held” by the military. It was not “closely held” because others outside the military had already been exposed to the video, and proof of this existed as the transcript of the Collateral Murder video had been published in a book written by Washington Post reporter David Finkel, prior to Bradley Manning having released the video. 

Lauren McMara (also known as Zinnia Jones) also testified yesterday and she discussed a series of online chats she had with Bradley. The prosecution at first objected to the introduction of the chats, but then accepted them as means of establishing Bradley Manning’s state of mind. McMara said Bradley held “informed and complex opinions” and that they often discussed politics and global affairs: they were a “couple of people discussing their lives.” Bradley had also expressed his desire to eventually move into politics.

Other witnesses discussed the security policies that existed where Bradley Manning was stationed in Iraq, particularly in regards to the rules for installing and running programs on the intelligence analyst’s computers. The prosecution has charged Bradley with not only disseminating classified information on the internet, but also for having exceeded his authorization to access that data, and for using unauthorized software. Witness after witness have shown that Bradley Manning never exceeded his access, and that indeed he had access to much more sensitive information than he chose to release. It was also common practice and acceptable to run any program the intelligence officer chose, so long as it was run from a CD and not installed to the computer hard drive. Along with testifying to the security practices, witnesses stated that Bradley Manning was an excellent intelligence analyst, one of the best in his unit.

Early morning vigil on July 8th at the start of the defense’s arguments. More than 70 people attended filling both the courtroom and the overflow trailer! This surprised the unprepared military, who had to scramble to find proper seating.

A Sgt. Sadtler also testified that Bradley Manning approached him with concerns about passing information to the Iraqi military that would be used to detain and torture Iraqi civilians. Sadtler testified that he did not follow up on the concerns, but he did say that Bradley “had a deep concern about what was going on whereas others were more concerned with going on about their day.”

Closing the day the defense introduced Col. Morris Davis as an expert witness on the Guantanamo detainee briefings, and on national security. The prosecution spent well over an hour trying to argue that Davis, who was a Chief Prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, and who advised President Obama on Guantanamo Bay policies, was not an expert witness. Morris was eventually accepted as an expert witness on the Guantanamo Detainee Briefings and Guantanamo policies, but not as an expert on National Security Law. 

Read daily reports from the courtroom!

 On July 27th there will be a worldwide day of action for Bradley Manning. So far events have been organized in Washington DC,  Vancouver BC, Los Angeles CA, and in London UK.  Find an event in your community and/or host your own! Every action counts! Wondering how to participate? Consider making a large “I Am Bradley Manning” sign and bringing it out into your community. Ask passerby’s to take photos holding the sign, then submit them to the “I Am Bradley Manning” photo campaign. Also consider holding a fundraising dinner party, or a vigil. 

View list of solidarity events around the world.

Register your event here!