Reports from 16 July
See also this report on indymedia with additional links.
Vigil at the US Embassy in London
Ben Griffin of Veterans for Peace UK reports:
After over two years in prison awaiting trial for allegedly leaking information revealing US war crimes to the organisation WikiLeaks, PFC Bradley Manning is again in front of a US military judge for another pretrial motion hearing.
Today, in solidarity with Manning, 25 people gathered in London’s Grosvenor Square to face the US Embassy in silence.
Afterwards information was exchanged on the current state of play in the Manning case, Julian Assange’s current position and possible future action which will be publicised once dates are set.
Onwards to the Ecuadorian Embassy
We then walked from the US Embassy to the Ecuadorian Embassy where WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange has sought political asylum. People stood for Assange for a couple of hours despite the poor weather.
When people are subjected to persecution for resisting war it is our duty to support these people in any way we can. Offering support by our physical presence on the streets is a simple and effective act of solidarity.
A daily vigil has taken place outside the Ecuadorian Embassy since Assange sought refuge there almost a month ago. Please drop by if you are passing through London.
More photos from yesterday by IT Friends of Bradley Manning including this picture of one of Bradley Manning’s youngest supporters. A very new baby was also present at the vigil.
See also this report Free Manning! Protect Assange! on the Veterans for Peace UK blog.
Vigil and leafleting in Wrexham
Report by Genny Bove:
Two of us took to the streets in Wrexham today for a couple of hours in support of Bradley Manning, who has connections with Wales, lived here as a teenager and has family in Pembrokeshire. There was interest in Bradley’s Welsh connections, his plight at the hands of the US, his young age and his possible fate if convicted.
We held a banner, handed out flyers and engaged in conversations about Brad with passers-by.
We had one rather bizarre conversation with a man who thought our banner related to a past character in the soap opera EastEnders who he insisted was also called Bradley Manning. When I had a chance to look it up later, I discovered that the character was in fact Bradley Branning. I guess it’s an understandable mix-up in a world where the line between fiction and reality is deliberately blurred to divert us from the things we should be aware of and concerned about; for instance, stories about soap opera characters frequently masquerade as news reports in national newspapers and online. I didn’t have the presence of mind to ask him what he thought we were doing with a banner calling for the freedom of a fictional character killed off by the BBC over two years ago.
Action in Brisbane
Our man in Australia, Ciaron O’Reilly, has been busy organising solidarity for Bradley Manning and Julian Assange in Brisbane, including a vigil on 16 July to mark the start of this latest pre-trial hearing.
“Yes we can!” Brizzy bins Obama for Brad
More photos here.
The court hearing
This pretrial court hearing, just one of several in the run up to the trial in these long drawn out court martial proceedings, is scheduled to last all week. Reporters at the court have been denied transcripts of the proceedings and are not allowed to report from the court using laptops, making it extremely difficult to share an accurate record of events.
This article by Nathan Fuller on the bradleymanning.org website details some of the motions that are being put forward by the defence this week.
Read reports from the court by:
Kevin Gosztola Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Preview of August hearing.
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