WikiLeaks suspect moved to new jail

The US Army private suspected of giving classified data to WikiLeaks is being flown to a state-of-the-art prison where Pentagon officials said more extensive mental, emotional and physical health care will be available.

The Pentagon said Private First Class Bradley Manning was en route to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas.

Jeh Johnson, the Pentagon’s top lawyer, said the move does not suggest that Pfc Manning’s treatment at the Marine Corps base south of Washington was inappropriate.

But the transfer comes in the wake of international criticism about his treatment during his detention at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Virginia. And the conditions of his detention have been the focus of repeated protests from human rights groups and politicians.

In response, Pfc Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, wrote on his blog that his client’s treatment at Quantico was substandard.

“While the defence hopes that the move to Fort Leavenworth will result in the improvement of Pfc Manning’s conditions of confinement, it nonetheless intends to pursue redress at the appropriate time for the flagrant violations of his constitutional rights by the Quantico confinement facility,” Mr Coombs wrote.

Mr Johnson, however, said “the fact that we have made a decision to transfer this particular pre-trial confinee... should not be interpreted as a criticism of the place he was before”.

Speaking to reporters during a hastily arranged briefing today, Mr Johnson and Army Under-secretary Joseph Westphal acknowledged that the Marine prison was not designed to hold pre-trial detainees for more than a few months.

“This is the right decision, at the right time,” said Mr Westphal. “We were looking at a situation where he would need an environment more conducive for a longer detention.”

The new detention facility, they said, will be more open, have more space, and Pfc Manning will have a greater opportunity to eat and interact with other prisoners there.

They added that the move was in Pfc Manning’s best interest because Leavenworth’s Joint Regional Correctional Facility has a broader array of facilities, including trained mental, emotional and physical health staff.