Protestors arrested

About 35 protesters were arrested yesterday outside the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va. where Army Pfc. Bradley Manning is being detained. Hundreds of people attended the protest following accusations of mistreatment that surfaced over the past few months.

According to several sources, including Manning's attorney David Coombs, the suspected Wikileaks leaker is kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day and is stripped naked and given a "suicide-proof" smock every night to wear to bed.

Protestors wore shirts and carried signs with pictures of Manning, while chanting, "Free Bradley Manning!" Police in riot gear arrested a group of people when they refused to leave the intersection in front of the entrance to the base. As officers attempted to push protestors out of the intersection, several short scuffles broke out. One protestor was charged with assault and battery of an officer.

The Virginia protest was one of over 25 organized protests in support of Manning around the world.

"It's stuff like this that gives Bradley hope," said David House, a friend who visits Manning often. "When I go in there, look him in the eyes and say, 'Bradley, there are people on the outside that support you,' his eyes light up."

Manning is charged with over 33 offenses, including aiding the enemy, for allegedly stealing computer files containing thousands of confidential State Department cables and several classified videos and war logs. The information and videos were made public through the WikiLeaks website.

Manning was detained in Iraq on May 26, 2010, and a month later was formally charged and transferred from a detention facility in Kuwait to the Quantico base. At the base, he has been kept on prevention-of-injury status.

On March 5th, Coombs, an army court-martial defense specialist, wrote on his blog that Manning's treatment was "shameful."

"There is no justification, and there can be no justification, for treating a detainee in this degrading and humiliating manner."

Last week, State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley resigned after making comments criticizing the government's treatment of Manning. He called the handling of manning's detention "ridiculous, counterproductive, and stupid."

At a March 11 press conference, President Obama responded to Crowley's comments by saying that he had been assured by the Pentagon that Manning was being held under appropriate conditions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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