Former US private first class Bradley Manning was today sentenced to 35 years imprisonment for his leaking of thousands of classified documents, including the infamous “Collateral Murder” video documenting the killing of civilians and reporters by US troops in Iraq. Manning will be dishonourably discharged and will lose all pay and allowances[1].
Pirate Party Australia wishes to extend its condolences to Mr Manning and his family, in what can only be described as a gross injustice.
“Whistleblowing is unfortunately one of the only ways to make politics and governance transparent,” said Queensland Pirate Party Senate candidate Melanie Thomas. “As governments worldwide become increasingly secretive it is apparent that whistleblowers are vital to keeping us informed of what our governments are doing as our representatives. Individuals like Bradley Manning should be applauded for their courage in revealing war crimes, rather than punished for revealing information that needs to be public.”