70 communities to rally for Army whistle-blower facing life behind bars this weekend

Bradley Manning Support Network
and Courage to Resist
February 22, 2013

This weekend, more than 70 cities worldwide are marking PFC Bradley Manning’s 1,000th day in jail without a trial. Supporters are holding rallies, marches, live performances, art installations, and other creative events to raise awareness about the young Army private. The coordinated actions span five continents, with events planned throughout the U.S., across Europe, and as far as South Korea, Portugal, Uganda, and Australia. For example, hundreds in New York City will see a theater production based on Bradley's own words, followed by a rally at Times Square.

“While criminal bankers enjoy immunity because they are ‘too big to fail,’ and now even to jail, a heroic young man faces life in prison for exposing the truth. This global outpouring of concern in protest of Bradley’s 1,000th jail of imprisonment is inspiring,” noted Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist Project Director and Bradley Manning Support Network Steering Committee member.

Manning faces life in prison for passing classified documents to WikiLeaks, which exposed the murder of civilian journalists and disturbing insights into secretive U.S. foreign policy. In chat logs released by Wired, Manning allegedly states he hoped these releases would motivate "worldwide discussion, debate and reform."

Manning returns to court in Fort Meade, MD, for a pretrial hearing from Feb. 26—March 1, where Judge Denise Lind is expected to rule on the defense’s motion to dismiss charges for lack of a speedy trial. His court-martial trial is scheduled to start June 3, 2013, more than three years after his arrest in May 2010.

Read more about this weekend’s events here, or see below of event listings.