“The news of Bradley Manning’s sentencing is devastating. If our own can’t speak up about injustice who will? How will we ever move forward?” Lady Gaga – Aug 21, 2013
“Lets hope this mans [Bradley] courage and dignity and patriotism is contagious” John Cusack (actor) – Aug 21, 2013
“Manning does not deserve prison time. He is one more casualty of a horrible, wrongful war.” Daniel Ellsberg (Pentagon Papers whistleblower) – Aug 21, 2013
“This is a sad day for Bradley Manning, but it’s also a sad day for all Americans who depend on brave whistleblowers and a free press for a fully informed public debate.” American Civil Liberties Union – Aug 21, 2013
“Bradley Manning’s sentence today wasn’t about him. The government doesn’t care about him at all. Manning’s sentence today was aimed at thousands of soldiers & government workers who know about terrible crimes & are wondering what to do.” Michael Moore (filmmaker) – Aug 21, 2013
“Bradley Manning should be shown clemency in recognition of his motives for acting as he did, the treatment he endured in his early pre-trial detention, and the due process shortcomings during his trial. The President doesn’t need to wait for this sentence to be appealed to commute it; he can and should do so right now,” Amnesty International Senior Director of International Law and Policy Widney Brown – Aug 21, 2013
“35 years is far too long a sentence by any standard. In more than two weeks of hearings, government lawyers presented vague and largely speculative claims that Private Manning’s leaks had endangered lives and ‘chilled’ diplomatic relations. On the other hand, much of what Private Manning released was of public value” New York Times Editorial Board – Aug 21, 2013
“The aggressive prosecution and harsh sentencing of Manning not only contrasts sharply with the total impunity of former senior US officials for torture and related abuses, but also far exceeds the sentences most democratic countries impose for public leaks of sensitive information.” Human Rights Watch general counsel Dinah PoKempner – Aug 21, 2013
“It is a travesty of justice that Manning, who helped bring to light the criminality of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, is being punished while the alleged perpetrators of the crimes [s]he exposed are not even investigated.” Center for Constitutional Rights – Aug 21, 2013
“I think he should be released now, that he has done us a great service by letting the people know the truth. [He’s] a whistleblower” Ron Paul (political figure) – Aug 22, 2013
“Clemency is the next call for Bradley Manning by his legions of supporters from all political backgrounds. He has suffered enough.” Ralph Nader (political figure) – Aug 21, 2013
Should President Obama Pardon Bradley Manning? 88% of UK Guardian readers say yes. UK Guardian – Aug 21, 2013
„Bradley Manning is still my hero.“ Moby (musician) – Aug 22, 2013
“It is the position of the Government Accountability Project (GAP) that this sentence, though not the 60+ year sentence that the prosecution had requested, is intended to be a message to all whistleblowers, present and future. Further, the sentence is excessive and unjust“ Government Accountability Project – Aug 21, 2013
“There’s a famous statement that military justice is to justice as military music is to music. Manning should be praised for letting citizens know what their government is doing in secret.” Noam Chomsky (philosopher and academic) – Aug 23, 2013
“Manning uncovered torture, abuse, soldiers laughing as they killed innocent civilians. Now he’s headed to prison” Huffington Post Politics – Aug 21, 2013
“In terms of international law, Mr. Manning should be celebrated as a hero. He should spend no time in addition to the three years that he’s spent, including the 112 days that the judge says that he should be spared from because of ill-treatment in Quantico. He should be released forthwith. And he should be celebrated.” Vijay Prashad (historian, journalist and commentator) – Aug 24, 2013
„Bradley Manning got 35 YEARS and Rumsfeld/Cheney still walk free…oh wait, it’s Opposite Day. My bad.“ Patton Oswalt (comedian) – Aug 21, 2013
“I look at what happened to today as a kind of process, and a very depressing process, whereby not only civil liberties are shredded, but finally any capacity for the investigation and uncovering of the abuse of power is effectively thwarted. So, yeah, it’s part of a larger picture.” Chris Hedges (former NYT war correspondent) – Aug 21, 2013
“I just think it’s a sad day when a fellow citizen reveals lies and crimes of the U.S. government and he’s the one who ends up being treated like a criminal. And so for me, just one day’s too much for him, and I’m just here to be with him, stand in solidarity with him. We gotta keep fighting.” Cornel West (academic and author) – Aug 21, 2013
