WikiLeaks Finally Gives Funds to Bradley Manning
Accused secret document leaker Pfc. Bradley Manning has been languishing in a military jail since last May. His defense team said last year they needed $100,000 to defend him for the military trial he is facing, set to begin pre-trial hearings in March.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has repeatedly denied that he was aware of who exactly leaked the trove of secret military and diplomatic documents that turned his organization into a household name.
Regardless, a spokesman for WikiLeaks promised last July to donate half the funds necessary to defend Manning.
A few months later, the offer was reduced to $20,000.
Thursday, WikiLeaks donated $15,100, reports the Bradley Manning Support Network, which is coordinating Manning's defense. The Network says WikiLeaks has fulfilled their pledge.
WikiLeaks has fallen on hard financial times since they began leaking U.S. diplomatic cables to the public late last year. Besides being cut off from using MasterCard, PayPal and similar companies, Assange said recently they are losing $600,000 per week, although he did not elaborate.
Manning's defense team, led by Rhode Island-based court martial expert David Coombs, now says it needs at least $115,000. Coombs has also waged a public campaign against Manning's confinement conditions.
His defense team claims Manning is being held in solitary confinement without having been charged in inhumane conditions.