TRIANGLE, Virginia – Wearing T-shirts and carrying signs bearing the smiling image of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, hundreds of people rallied Sunday outside the base where he is being detained on charges of providing classified data to Wikileaks.
Tighe Barry, center, wearing pink, confronts a group of Virginia State Police officers approaching protesters who rallied outside the main gate of Marine Corps Base Quantico , Va., on Sunday afternoon, March 20, 2011. Hundreds protested the treatment of an imprisoned Army private Bradley Manning, who is suspected of providing classified data to WikiLeaks. (AP Photo/The Free Lance-Star, Robert A. Martin)About 35 people were arrested by police in riot gear after they refused to vacate an intersection in front of the entrance to Marine Corps Base Quantico. The rally was held along with more than two dozen others around the world to protest Manning’s detention in Quantico’s brig.
Manning is held alone in his cell for all but an hour a day. At night, his clothes are taken and he is given a suicide-proof smock to wear to bed. Manning’s lawyer has repeatedly complained that Manning’s strict confinement conditions are punitive, a charge the military has denied.
The military maintains that Manning’s treatment complies with U.S. law and military regulations, and it has said that some of the conditions are needed to prevent him from harming himself. He faces nearly two dozen charges, including aiding the enemy, a crime that can bring the death penalty or life in prison. Army prosecutors, however, have told Manning’s lawyers that they will not recommend the death penalty.
David House, a friend who has visited Manning about 15 times since September, told the protesters that Manning appreciated their support.