U.S. Defense Department Announces Sentence for Detainee Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi

The U.S. Defense Department released the below information:

The Department of Defense announced today that Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi (seen in the above photo) was sentenced to 13 years in confinement for conspiracy, attacking civilian objects, hazarding a vessel, terrorism, attempts, and aiding the enemy.

The sentencing hearing took place today in a military commission courtroom at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

During his Feb. 20, 2014, guilty pleas, al-Darbi pled guilty to the charged offenses stemming from an attempt to carry out terrorist attacks against shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and off the coast of Yemen, and a completed terrorist attack against the French oil tanker, MV Limburg. As part of his plea he agreed to delay his sentence proceeding in order to cooperate with the Government.

Under the terms of the pre-trial agreement, al-Darbi agreed to testify for the United States at any military commission, federal court proceeding, or federal grand jury proceeding against other individuals alleged to have been involved in terrorist activity.  al-Darbi has cooperated with U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies and, as part of the pre-trial must continue to cooperate.  In exchange for al-Darbi's guilty plea and promise to cooperate and testify, the Convening Authority agreed to limit the amount of confinement that would be approved.  If al-Darbi fails to comply with his promise to testify and cooperate, his prior plea agreement could be by the Convening Authority.

Once the record of trial is finalized, it will be sent to the Convening Authority for Military Commissions for action on the findings and sentence.  Al-Darbi can submit matters in order to convince the Convening Authority to lessen his adjudged sentence further.  After review of the clemency submissions, the Convening Authority may set aside the findings with respect to any charge, and he may reduce, but not al-Darbi's sentence.  After reviewing the record and taking final action on the findings and sentence, the Convening Authority will serve notice upon al-Darbi of his final decision. 

Army PFC Bradley Manning Convicted Of Espionage And Theft, Acquited Of Aiding The Enemy Charge - Verdict Signals A Stern Warning Against Leaks

 

Kristina Wong at the Washington Times offers a piece on the conviction of Army PFC Bradley Manning.

A military court Tuesday convicted Army Pfc. Bradley Manning of violating the Espionage Act for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks, a verdict that legal analysts say likely will have a chilling effect on others considering revealing government secrets.

While Manning, 25, was acquitted of the most serious charge — aiding the enemy, which carried a penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole — he still faces up to 136 years in prison when he is sentenced at Fort George G. Meade, Md. The sentencing hearing, which starts Wednesday, is expected to last most of August.

The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, did not reveal her reasoning in her ruling, but David Schanzer, a former Justice Department official, said the verdict makes clear that the leakers’ intent does not matter in prosecuting them for revealing state secrets.

“If you receive a security clearance, you don’t get the right to decide when, or when it’s not, OK to leak information. The reasons that you leak are irrelevant,” said Mr. Schanzer, associate professor and director of the Triangle Center of Terrorism and Homeland Security at Duke University. “No individual employee, especially lower-level employees like Bradley Manning, has a really complete picture of what the national security interest is.” 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/30/bradley-manning-verdict-signals-a-stern-warning-ag/?page=all#pagebreak

Prosecution Wraps Up Case In WikiLeaks Court-Martial Of PFC Bradley Manning

Reuters offers a piece on the court-martial of U.S. Army PFC Bradley Manning.

FORT MEADE, MARYLAND — Court-martial prosecutors wrapped up their case on Tuesday against the soldier charged with providing a trove of secret material to WikiLeaks in the biggest leak of classified files in U.S. history.

Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, faces 21 charges, including espionage, computer fraud and, most seriously, aiding the enemy. Manning could face life in prison without parole if convicted.

Judge Colonel Denise Lind allowed the final prosecution witness, Daniel Lewis, a counterintelligence adviser at the Defense Intelligence Agency, to testify in a closed session. An unclassified summary of his testimony - largely about the value of the material Manning provided to WikiLeaks - will be read into the record.

Lewis was the government's 28th in-person witness since the trial started on June 3. More than 50 written statements from witnesses have also been submitted by prosecutors.

Lind set a court recess from Wednesday to Monday, when “we will proceed with the defense case,” she said.

The defense has listed 46 potential witnesses and the trial is scheduled to run to Aug. 23.

You can read the piece by visiting the Voice of America web site via the below link:

http://www.voanews.com/content/prosecution-manning-wikileaks-court-martial/1693972.html

Note: PFC Bradley Manning appears above in the U.S. Army photo.

Trial Begins For PFC Bradley Manning, The U.S. Soldier Accused Of Leaking Classified Information To WikiLeaks

David Vergun at the Army News Service offers a piece on the opening of the PFC Bradley Manning trial.

FORT MEADE, Md., June 4, 2013 - With the prosecution accusing Army Pfc. Bradley Manning (seen in the above U.S. Army photo) of causing immeasurable harm to national security and Manning's attorney portraying the soldier as "young and naïve, but good-intentioned," Manning's court-martial in what has become known as "the WikiLeaks case" began here yesterday. Manning, 25 is charged with committing various crimes, including aiding the enemy, by leaking classified information to the WikiLeaks website while assigned to Iraq as an intelligence analyst in 2009 and 2010. If convicted, Manning could be sentenced to life in prison. In his opening statement, Army Capt. Joe Morrow, the prosecutor, called the leaks the "biggest ever" in U.S. history, involving hundreds of thousands of classified documents, and that they provided "potentially actionable information for targeting U.S. forces." David Coombs, Manning's attorney, said in his opening statement that Manning was selective about the documents he released and "was hoping to make the world a better place" by doing so. The judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, asked Manning if he wanted to reconsider trial by a military judge alone, herself, rather than by jury, which is termed a "panel" by the military. Manning declined. In the afternoon, the prosecutor called the first witness, Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Smith, who was the senior enlisted Criminal Investigative Division agent at the time. He and another case agent, Tony Graham, were the first to investigate the "scene of the crime," as Smith called the sensitive compartmented information facility where Manning worked in Iraq. Smith discussed the procedures they used to collect evidence and conduct interviews. The prosecutor will call more witnesses and use sworn statements as evidence as its case proceeds. The defense will present its arguments in the coming days.