Heartbreaking Transcript from the Bradley Manning Trial -- Lamos Interrogation

[FourScore]

The Court Transcript of Everything Bradley Manning Told Adrian Lamo Is Heartbreaking
By Brian Merchant



Earlier this week, Adrian Lamo took the stand to testify in Bradley Manning's court martial. Lamo, of course, is the attention-seeking ex-hacker who turned Manning over to the feds. In the most widely-repeated account of the preceding events, Manning had willingly reached out to Lamo, perhaps after reading a Wired article documenting the hacker's struggles with depression.

If Lamo's testimony and the chat logs of their conversations are to be believed, then Manning confided not just details about the cables he'd passed to Wikileaks but of his troubled personal life as well. Lamo convinced Manning that he would keep their conversations confidential, and even told him that he was a "journalist" and could protect his identity as a source in the event.

But Lamo was intending to act as an informant the entire time, and promptly turned all of their correspondence over to the feds. They had never met in person, and, on Tuesday, they came face to face for the first time.

Thanks to a crowd-funded activist stenographer, we've got the transcript. And it is heartbreaking. Manning's defense lawyer David Coombs takes the opportunity to recount the content of their online chats, hammering home how naive, fragile, and nobly-intentioned Manning was at the time. If you've already read the heavily edited chats between the two that Wired published, you might have a small notion of what you're in for. But not fully...

Read more: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-court-transcript-of-everything-bradley-manning-told-adrian-lamo-is-heartbreaking#ixzz2VkQFDGhn
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[annabanana]

1. poor Manning.. I had no idea

how fragile he was. This must be very very hard for him.

[xchrom]

2. lamo is to be reviled. a cold blooded reptilian

who should be left stranded on an island somewhere.

[backscatter712]

3. +1. Fucking snitch. n/t

[FourScore]

5. kick

[G_j]

6. and Manning has already been punished

http://m.democracynow.org/stories/13686

AMY GOODMAN: Among the protesters outside Fort Meade, Maryland, on Saturday was Sarah Shourd. She was jailed for 14 months in Iran after she and two other Americans, Shane Bauer and now her husband—who is now her husband, and Josh Fattal, were detained by Iranian border forces on July 31st, 2009, for allegedly hiking across the Iraqi border into Iran, which they don’t believe is the case. She spoke to Al Jazeera from the protest.

SARAH SHOURD: My name is Sarah Shourd. I’m an author and an advocate against the use of solitary confinement. And I was held as a political hostage by the Iranian government for 410 days in solitary confinement, along with my now-husband Shane Bauer and my friend Josh Fattal.

Bradley Manning doesn’t deserve to be in prison. And I know what it’s like to sit in a prison cell and know that you don’t deserve to be there. Bradley Manning was held for nine months in extreme conditions of solitary confinement, very similar to my own conditions in Iranian prison. We were both under lockdown 23 hours a day, with—under sensory deprivation. There’s really no way to describe the depth of loneliness. You really just have to get through one day at the time, and every day is a monumental task.

But the fact that people are coming out for Bradley Manning—and I’m sure he knows about it, word will get to him—I’m sure will give him the strength that he needs and help remind him that a lot of people really appreciate what he did for our country and for the world. It’s a level of bravery and heroism that really takes—takes me aback.

---
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/us-accused-inhumane-treatment-over-wikileaks-soldier-case-2011-01-24

US accused of inhumane treatment over Wikileaks soldier case

Amnesty International has urged the US authorities to alleviate the harsh pre-trial detention conditions of Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of leaking information to Wikileaks.

The US army private, 23, has been held for 23 hours a day in a sparsely furnished solitary cell and deprived of a pillow, sheets, and personal possessions since July 2010.

Amnesty International last week wrote to the US Defence secretary, Robert Gates, calling for the restrictions on Bradley Manning to be reviewed. In the same week, the soldier suffered several days of increased restrictions by being temporarily categorised as a "suicide risk".

"We are concerned that the conditions inflicted on Bradley Manning are unnecessarily severe and amount to inhumane treatment by the US authorities," said Susan Lee, Amnesty International’s Programme Director for the Americas.

---

http://mobile.rawstory.com/therawstory/#!/entry/amnesty-international-condemns-inhumane-treatment-of-bradley-manning,514aa81cd7fc7b56707a19b9

.

[Jesus Malverde]

7. I'm with Bradley

Q. He said he could not separate himself from others?

A. Correct.

Q. He felt connected to everybody?

A. Yes.

Q. Even told you it felt like we were all distant family?

A. Engagement.

Q. And he said he cared?

A. Yes.

Q. He told you that he thought he would keep track -- keep track of people that his job impacted?

A. Correct.

Q. And he wanted to make sure that everybody was okay?

A. Yes.

Q. He told you that the way he separated himself from other analysts was, he cared about people?

A. He said that, yes.

Q. PFC Manning told you he followed humanist values?

A. Yes, he did.

Q. He said he had dogs tags saying "humanist" on it?

A. Yes.

Q. Do you know what it means to be a humanist?

A. From my understanding the importance of human life and human beings and has a structure of morality.

Q. He told you that he was bothered that nobody seemed to care?

A. Yes, he did.

Q. He said he thought apathy was far worse than active participation?

A. Yes.

Q. He also told you that he was maybe too traumatized to really care about the consequences to him?

A. Yes.

Q. He told you that he wasn't brave. He was weak?

A. Yes.

Q. He said he was not so much scared of getting caught and facing consequences as he was of being misunderstood?

A. Yes.

Q. At one point you asked him what his end game was, correct?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. And he told you, hopefully worldwide discussions, debates and reforms?

A. Yes, he did.

Q. And he said he wanted people to see the truth?

A. Correct.

Q. He said without information you can't make informed decision as a whole?

A. Yes, he did.

Q. And he told you to, he was hoping that people would actually change if they saw the information?

A. Correct.