Bradley Manning for Nobel Peace Prize?

RT.com, 06 February, 2012

AFP Photo / Paul J. Richards

Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of passing secret materials to Wikileaks, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The nomination was proposed by The Movement of Icelandic Parliament, which asserts that revelations produced by the documents Manning allegedly exposed “have helped to fuel a worldwide discussion about America’s overseas engagements, civilian war casualties, imperialistic manipulations, and rules of engagement.”

RT spoke to one of the members of The Movement, MP Birgitta Jonsdottir.

She said the group “wanted to raise awareness about the situation with Private Bradley Manning, whom way too few people know of.”

“It is extremely important that we honor the whistleblowers of our world,” she said, so people will not be silenced from performing their civic duty “by reporting on crimes, be it corporate, state or military.”

Jonsdottir believes Manning has as much chance to win the prize as any other nominee.

But, Icelandic MP said, the decision on a Nobel Peace Prize is a very politicized matter, “because peace – just like war – is a very political issue.”

Manning was arrested in May 2010 on suspicion of having passed classified materials to WikiLeaks. After a pretrial hearing concluded last month, it was announced that the case would be tried in a military court.

Manning faces 22 charges of violating the military code, from theft of records to aiding the enemy.

If found guilty, he could face life in prison or execution. The soldier has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Clark Stoeckley, an artist who has dedicated much of his work to the Manning case, believes that “he will probably be one of the highest vote-getters for this Nobel Peace Prize,” and he hopes Manning wins.

Stoeckley also believes winning the prize will dramatically improve Manning’s situation, because “it will be hard to keep him in prison after winning prize like that.”