WASHINGTON — US soldier Bradley Manning — accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of confidential US diplomatic and military cables to the website WikiLeaks — will face a court martial, it was announced late Friday.
US Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington referred all charges before Manning to a court martial, at a date to be determined, FOX News Channel reported. The army said in a statement that the decision as taken “after reviewing the investigating officer’s report … recommendations from the chain of command, and the case file.”
Manning has been charged with aiding the enemy, wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the internet, theft of public property or records, transmitting defense information, fraud and other related charges.
The 24-year-old faces life in prison if convicted of aiding the enemy — the most serious of the 22 charges he is facing.
Investigators testified at a December hearing that contact information for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as well as the leaked cables and classified information, were found on Manning’s computer and digital storage devices.
His classified leaks included Afghanistan and Iraq war reports, State Department cables, Guantanamo detainee assessments and videos of US airstrikes.
Manning’s attorneys said at December’s hearing that the military had “overcharged in this case” and urged a reduction in his charges to carry a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Manning hails from Oklahoma and served in Iraq from November 2009 until he was arrested in May 2010.