Feb

28

“WikiLeaks Whistleblower Bradley Manning Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize”

February 28, 2012 | 1 Comment

Mashable article by Lauren Indvik

Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who leaked hundreds of thousands of pieces of classified material to WikiLeaks, has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Manning was arrested in May 2010 and was detained until formal charges were brought against him last week.  He is facing 22 charges, including but not limited to violating Army computer use rules, disclosing classified information to a person not authorized to receive it, and the most serious of all, aiding the enemy.  The latter is punishable by death, but Army prosecutors insist that they are seeking life imprisonment instead.

WikiLeaks and almost every event surrounding it has been doused in controversy.  This article exemplifies the extreme polarity of this issue.  It is about a man who is being nominated for one of the most prestigious awards on the planet among such candidates as Russian humanitarian Svetlana Gannushkina and former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. It is also about a man who has been jailed for nearly a year and is facing a life sentence for actions his home nation sees as treasonous.

Wikileaks is one of the grayest issues in recent U.S. memory.  Some see the site as a threat to national security, others see it as a protest against government secrecy. Its founder, Julian Assange, is seen by as many people as a crusader for truth and liberty as he is a reckless, spiteful villain.

One thing is clear.  The internet is being taken much more seriously in recent years.  Once seen as a harmless utopia of free information, it is now seen as a digital Garden of Eden, and those who bite the poison apple are being punished harshly.

Manning is facing life in prison, but could just as well be facing the death penalty.  Kim Dotcom, founder of Megaupload, is facing stiff penalties for alleged racketeering and piracy, including jail time.  SOPA and ACTA managed to strike fear in the hearts of millions of Americans and drew far more attention than any other bill in recent memory.

While the internet is still an open ground of information, recent court cases and acts of legislation prove that it may not be forever.  It has shed its image as a digital playground and is being treated like reality in the eyes of the law.  To Bradley Manning, his actions have had very real consequences in ways both good and bad.



Speak your mind

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

«
»

  • Archive