US: Special Rapporteur condemns treatment of Private Manning in detention

last updated Mar 09, 2012

On Monday 5 March 2012, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (UNSRT) Juan Mendez said in an interview with AFP, he believes that Private first class Bradley Manning "was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" and he is not satisfied with the explanation given by the authorities. Manning, who is suspected to be the source of classified files, published by the Website Wikileaks, spent eight months in solitary confinement at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico before he was transferred to a facility in Kansas. Last year Mr. Mendez already criticized the restrictions the United States government has placed upon him. Mendez was allowed access to Private Manning, however, the authorities warned him that the conversation would be monitored.