Bradley Manning’s pre-trial punishment

Forbidden to lie down in his cell between 5am to 8pm; forbidden from exercising in the cell inside which he is confined 23 hours a day — these are just two features of the barbaric conditions in which Private First Class Bradley Manning is being confined as he awaits trial. His lawyer describes Manning’s detention.

PFC Manning is currently being held in maximum custody. Since arriving at the Quantico Confinement Facility in July of 2010, he has been held under Prevention of Injury (POI) watch.

His cell is approximately six feet wide and twelve feet in length.

The cell has a bed, a drinking fountain, and a toilet.

The guards at the confinement facility are professional. At no time have they tried to bully, harass, or embarrass PFC Manning. Given the nature of their job, however, they do not engage in conversation with PFC Manning.

At 5:00 a.m. he is woken up (on weekends, he is allowed to sleep until 7:00 a.m.). Under the rules for the confinement facility, he is not allowed to sleep at anytime between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. If he attempts to sleep during those hours, he will be made to sit up or stand by the guards.

He is allowed to watch television during the day. The television stations are limited to the basic local stations. His access to the television ranges from 1 to 3 hours on weekdays to 3 to 6 hours on weekends.

He cannot see other inmates from his cell. He can occasionally hear other inmates talk. Due to being a pretrial confinement facility, inmates rarely stay at the facility for any length of time. Currently, there are no other inmates near his cell.

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2 thoughts on “Bradley Manning’s pre-trial punishment

  1. Christopher Hoare

    I’m sure this barbarity will be taken into consideration by the British and Swedish judges if the US ever tries to extradite Julian Assange on the basis of a one hundred year old phobia. The independence of the justice system is taken seriously in some countries — unlike the US.

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