Manning suffered ‘illegal pretrial punishment,’ judge says

Army Pfc. Bradley Manning suffered “illegal pretrial punishment” during nine months of detainment after he was accused of leaking tens of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, a military judge found Tuesday.

The Associated Press reports that Manning was awarded 112 days off of whatever prison sentence he may receive in the WikiLeaks case if he is convicted.

Col. Denise Lind, the judge who made the ruling, found that his confinement was “more rigorous than necessary."

Manning was held for nine months at the maximum-security brig in Quantico, Va. He was confined in a windowless cell at the maximum security for 23 hours, sometimes forced to sleep and stand naked.

Brig officials argue those steps were taken to prevent him from hurting himself or others, according to the AP. Officials testified he was kept in the 6-by-8 foot cell because they considered Manning a suicide risk.

Manning is facing 22 charges and life in prison in the WikLeaks case. The trial starts in March. 

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