GI returns to Fort Meade for pretrial hearing in WikiLeaks case; seeks dismissal of charges
FORT MEADE, Md. - An Army private charged with spilling U.S. secrets to the website WikiLeaks is heading to a courtroom in Maryland for pretrial proceedings.
The hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning is scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon at Fort Meade and run through Sunday.
Manning is expected to testify on a defence motion seeking dismissal of all charges.
His lawyers contend Manning was illegally punished by being locked up alone in a small cell for nearly nine months and having to sleep naked for several nights.
The military contends his treatment at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va., was proper, given his classification as a maximum-security detainee who posed a risk of injury to himself or others.
Manning faces possible life imprisonment if convicted of aiding the enemy, the most serious of the 22 charges.
