MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) – The recent sentencing of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning clearly demonstrates that there will be no fair trial in the United States for another leaker, Edward Snowden, his Russian attorney said on Wednesday.
A US military judge sentenced Manning to 35 years in prison Wednesday for leaking classified documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. Included in the 700,000 files leaked by Manning was a video of a 2007 US helicopter attack in Baghdad that reportedly killed a dozen civilians including a Reuters cameraman and his driver.
Anatoly Kucherena, who became an attorney for Snowden after the latter fled to Russia, said they have recently discussed the Manning trial in a private conversation.
"Even if Edward thought of returning to the United States to stand a fair trial, in this case it is absolutely evident that absolutely no one pays attention to a person’s stance, to his motives. Everything is about putting a person to prison for revealing information,” Kucherena said.
The lawyer added that even if Snowden had had any hope for justice before Manning’s trial, it is gone now.
“If Manning is sentenced to 35 years for revealing information about the killings of peaceful civilians, how can we speak about justice being served, including in Edward’s case?” he said.
Snowden, a former US intelligence contractor, is wanted by the United States on espionage and theft charges after exposing the US National Security Agency’s sweeping telephone and electronic surveillance programs. He received temporary asylum from Russia earlier this month, a move that has further strained US-Russian relations and prompted an outcry from the US administration and members of Congress.
