FORT MEADE, MD. (AP) - An Army private
charged with leaking classified material to WikiLeaks says he tied a
bed sheet into a noose while considering suicide during his pretrial
confinement.
PFC. Bradley Manning
testified Friday on the fourth day of a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade
near Baltimore. He is seeking dismissal of his case, claiming he was
illegally punished by being held for nine months in restrictive
conditions designed to prevent self-harm.
Manning testified under
cross-examination that he made the noose in Kuwait before he was moved
to a Marine Corps brig in Quantico, VA.
He arrived at Quantico
classified as a suicide risk. Eight days later, he was upgraded to the
less-restrictive "prevention of injury" status.
Manning maintains that neither designation was appropriate because he didn't feel like hurting himself after leaving Kuwait.
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