Julian Assange on Bradley Manning and Political Payback

In the buildup to Julian Assange's run for the Australian senate, VICE was invited to the Ecuadorian embassy in London for a rare in-person interview. Our visit coincided with the conviction of Bradley Manning, the young US Army private whose alleged espionage put WikiLeaks on the map. Assange spoke to us about political payback, his plans for freeing the most famous whistle-blower in history, and why the world needs a WikiLeaks political party.

Bradley Manning Has Become a Martyr says Julian Assange

Bradley Manning Has Become a Martyr says Julian Assange


The sentencing hearing for Army whistleblower Bradley Manning begins today following his acquittal on the most serious charge he faced, aiding the enemy, but conviction on 20 other counts. On Tuesday, Manning was found guilty of violating the Espionage Act and other charges for leaking hundreds of thousands of government documents to WikiLeaks. In beating the "aiding the enemy" charge, Manning avoids an automatic life sentence, but he still faces a maximum of 136 years in prison on the remaining counts. In his first U.S. television interview since the verdict, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange discusses the Manning "show trial," the plight of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, and the verdict's impact on WikiLeaks. "Bradley Manning is now a martyr," Assange says. "He didn't choose to be a martyr. I don't think it's a proper way for activists to behave to choose to be martyrs, but these young men -- allegedly in the case of Bradley Manning and clearly in the case of Edward Snowden -- have risked their freedom, risked their lives, for all of us. That makes them heroes." According to numerous press reports, the conviction of Manning makes it increasingly likely that the U.S. will prosecute Assange as a co-conspirator. During the trial, military prosecutors portrayed Assange as an "information anarchist" who encouraged Manning to leak hundreds of thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents.

Julian Assange Calls For Full Acquittal For Manning

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says the espionage conviction of U.S. soldier Bradley Manning sets a dangerous precedent and must be reversed.

Full Story:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Tuesday (July 30) condemned a military court at Fort Meade for finding U.S. soldier Bradley Manning guilty of 19 charges relating to leaking official documents.

A military judge on Tuesday found Manning not guilty of aiding the enemy, the most serious charge he faced for handing over documents to WikiLeaks.

He still likely faces a long jail term for the other counts.

Colonel Denise Lind ruled the 25-year-old Army private first class was guilty of five espionage charges, for the largest unauthorized release of classified U.S. data in the nation's history.

The trove of documents, including battlefield videos and diplomatic cables, was a huge boost to the profile of the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website and Assange.

Tuesday's verdict could be a blow to his efforts to encourage people with access to secret information to release it publicly.

[Julian Assange, WikiLeaks Founder]:
"It is a short-sighted judgement that cannot be tolerated and it must be reversed. It can never be that conveying true information to the public is espionage. It is clear the last few years has seen an important backlash against the authoritarianism being exercised by the United States government... Edward Snowden's actions are clearly also a reaction against national security extremism."

Manning, was working as a low-level intelligence analyst in Baghdad when he was arrested three years ago, could face a hundred-and-thirty-six-year sentence in military prison.

Lind will take up the question of his sentence on Wednesday (July 31).

The U.S. government was pushing for a life sentence without parole, which would have come if Manning had been convicted of aiding the enemy.