August 22, 2013
Dear Activist,
Yesterday,
the sentence came down for whistleblower Bradley Manning, who has since
revealed she has changed gender and would like to now be known as
Chelsea Manning. Manning is a hero who has made a tremendous sacrifice
for the sake of dignity, truth and justice. The 35-year prison sentence
handed down is 35 years too long.
If you were deeply moved by the actions of Manning and want to support her during her time in prison, take our pledge to join the CODEPINK Manning Support Team.
One person who is taking a pledge for Manning is CODEPINKer Colonel Ann
Wright. Here's what she had to say about Manning's sentence yesterday: “As a retired
Army colonel and former US diplomat who resigned because of the war in
the Iraq, I deeply appreciate the courage of Bradley Manning to reveal
the truth about the war, the number of civilian casualties, the illegal
criminal acts as represented by the video Collateral Murder, and the
diplomatic interactions that show the duplicity of the US government and
the harm it caused to people around the world. Now that Bradley has
been sentenced to prison, it is so important that we continue to show
him how much we appreciate his courage.” ~Colonel Ann Wright, CODEPINK Honolulu
The sentence given to Manning, according to
defense attorney David Coombs, is greater than the sentences for his
clients who were murderers, rapists and child molesters. It is also the
longest ever sentence for making government information available to the
public.
By taking the pledge,
you join the CODEPINK crew organizing letter writing campaigns and
visits to Manning while she is imprisoned in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas,
and calling on President Obama to pardon Chelsea Manning and to stop the
war on other whistleblowers. Please also consider making a donation to the Support Team to make our work possible.
We need to stop persecuting the truth and
rewarding the courage of those who are committed to revealing it. Let's
join hands in saying; Stop the war on whistleblowers! Free Chelsea
Manning! In solidarity,
Alli, Amanda, Kelleen, Jodie, Medea, Nancy K, Nancy M, Natalie, Noor, Sergei, and Tighe |