Sample Press Release

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Citizens Rally in Support of Alleged Wikileaks Whistle-blower Pfc. Bradley Manning

Subtitle

[Organization names] hosted a rally with [number] attendees at [location] on Saturday to call attention to the mistreatment of pretrial prisoner Bradley Manning, and the military’s attempts to use him as an example to suppress war crime whistle-blowers. Currently 23 yr-old Bradley is held in the Quantico military brig and denied access to sunlight, meaningful exercise, and the ability to sleep through the night without interruption.

Bradley is accused of releasing to Wikileaks the famous Collateral Murder video depicting the killing of journalists and wounded civilians by an Apache helicopter in Iraq as well as the Afghan War Diary, the Iraq War Logs, and U.S. Diplomatic Cables. The documents contain information about war crimes and government corruption and have played a role in motivating recent pro-democratic protests around the world, in particular the revolution in Tunisia. Wikileaks has received much attention following the release of this material, with its director Julian Assange named Reader’s Choice Person of the Year for Time Magazine in 2010 and nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Daniel Ellsberg has compared Bradley Manning’s intent and actions to his own when he famously leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, exposing government lies and contributing to the end of the Vietnam War. The full charges against Manning, for his alleged role, were released on March 2^nd,2011. The tenuous charge of “Aiding the Enemy” means that he could face the death penalty and came as a shock to many who feel whistle-blowers are instrumental to holding governments accountable.

“Quote from local activist”

Outraged activists gathered on [date] and [action] to raise awareness about the conditions of Bradley’s incarceration and to shed light on the military’s fear of transparency regarding facts of the Iraq War.

There is concern among some prominent public leaders that the Obama Administration’s treatment of this event is damaging the U.S.’s image abroad. The latest development in Bradley’s pretrial treatment is that since release of the full charges on March 2^nd, he has been stripped of all clothing each night before bed and forced to stand naked at attention the next morning.

“Is this Quantico or Abu Ghraib?” Dennis Kucinich said in a March 7^th statement. “This ‘non-punitive’ action would be considered a violation of the Army Field Manual if used in an interrogation overseas. The justification for and purpose of this action certainly raises questions of ‘cruel and unusual punishment,’ and could constitute a potential violation of international law.”

For more information from two key activist groups on the conditions surrounding Bradley Manning’s charges and imprisonment, please visit http://www.couragetoresist.org/ and http://bradleymanning.org/.

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The Bradley Manning Support Network exists to coordinate the activities of nonprofits and individual activists working internationally to support Manning, educate the public about the facts surrounding Manning’s incarceration and trial, and collect funds for high-quality legal counsel and a vigorous defense.