The trial of the main WikiLeaks informant has begun in the United States.

US authorities intend to seek a life sentence for private Bradley Manning, accused of transferring classified materials to the WikiLeaks website. The trial that began in Maryland threatens the US administration with new troubles. American human rights activists insist that the Manning case is part of a large-scale campaign against information leaks waged by the White House.

The beginning of the process was marked by noisy protests. All entrances to the Fort Meade military base in Maryland were blocked by police, and several hundred supporters of the defendant gathered in the nearby town of Laurel. Demonstrators marched through the streets to the beat of drums, shouting slogans like “Free Bradley Manning!” and "Let's defend the truth!"

Private First Class Bradley Manning, who was serving in a military intelligence unit in Baghdad, was taken into custody in May 2010 on suspicion of transferring classified materials to third parties about US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, he was charged with 22 counts, including the count of assisting the enemy. According to American law, this charge in relation to a military personnel is punishable by death. However, on the personal orders of the commander of the Military District of Washington, Major General Karl Horst, prosecutors demanded that Manning be sentenced to life imprisonment, confiscation of all funds he received during his military service, and dismissal from its ranks with deprivation of all rights and privileges. .

Bradley Manning himself pleaded guilty to 10 counts. According to him, he stole classified information only to “demonstrate the real cost of war.” However, the state prosecutor, Captain Joe Morrow, has already made it clear: the prosecutor's office intends to prove that the documents stolen by Manning fell into the hands of Osama bin Laden. According to the investigation, terrorist N1, through one member of al-Qaeda, ordered and received materials related to the fighting in Afghanistan, and part of the secret correspondence of the State Department. The state prosecutor supported his speech, which lasted 58 minutes, by demonstrating files from Manning’s personal and work computers, including materials from his correspondence with “a third party who does not have security clearance.” According to investigators, this person is WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

In response, lawyer David Coombs countered that his client was not a criminal. According to the defense lawyer, we are talking about a “young and naive soldier” who suffered in the army because of his homosexuality and felt the need to “do something to change this world.” In addition, according to the defense, Bradley Manning selected only those files “that could not harm the lives of soldiers.” This is how the lawyer explained the transfer to WikiLeaks of a video of a helicopter attack in Baghdad. “He believed that this information demonstrated how little we value human life,” said David Coombs. “And he believed that the American public would be outraged if they saw this footage.”

US human rights activists are confident that the Manning case is directly related to the campaign against information leaks waged by the White House. During Barack Obama's presidency, six former and current officials were convicted of unauthorized distribution of classified information. For comparison, over the past 40 years, only three government employees have been charged with such charges.

In the last month, representatives of major media outlets and journalistic associations have also announced the administration’s attempts to restrict freedom of the press. The reason was the actions of Justice Department employees who secretly wiretapped the phones of AP journalists, and the scandal with the surveillance and seizure of personal correspondence of a Fox News reporter. According to human rights activists, the charges against Bradley Manning contradict the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

The hearing will last at least 12 weeks.

Kirill Belyaninov, New York

The Pentagon has found a virtual enemy