The US military has pressed criminal charges against a soldier suspected of leaking video of a US helicopter attack in Iraq to the website, WikiLeaks.
Army Spc Bradley Manning is accused of transferring classified data on to his personal computer and transmitting it to an unauthorised third party. Spc Manning allegedly handed over footage of an Apache helicopter killing 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007.
He was detained in Baghdad in June, two months after the video’s publication. The army has yet to say what leaked information led to the charges, however the date of the operation cited in the charge sheet matches that of the helicopter incident – 12 July 2007.
‘Classified cables’
According to a US Army statement, Spc Manning was charged on Monday with eight violations of US criminal law and four violations of army regulations governing the handling of classified information and computers.
He is accused of downloading a classified video of a military operation in Iraq and transmitting it to an uncleared third party, in violation of a section of the Espionage Act, according to the charge sheet.
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