Bradley Manning – Current Events – Enter the Fray

Under POI, according to the defense website, Manning was required to eat all of his meals alone and could only eat his meals with a spoon. He was not allowed to speak with any prisoners. He was given a suicide mattress with a built-in pillow. He was given a tear-proof security blanket that was extremely coarse and led to rashes and carpet burns on Mannings skin. The blanket was stiff and would not contour to his body so it did not keep him warm. He was not allowed any personal items in the cell. He could only have one book or one magazine and when he was not reading the book or magazine would be taken away. It also was taken away each day before he went to sleep. He was not permitted to exercise in his cell. Any attempts to do push-ups or sit-ups would lead to officers ordering him to stop. Every night he went to sleep he had to strip down to his underwear and surrender his clothing to guards.

Manning had to request toilet paper when he needed to go to the bathroom. He would have to wait for guards to get around to providing this to him. No soap was in his cell. Sometimes when he wanted to wash his hands after using the bathroom, he would be able to, but sometimes he would not. No shoes were allowed to be worn. Initially, he was only allowed one hour of permitted correspondence a day. Then, after Oct 27, 2010, that changed to 2 hours/day.

Constantly, Manning was monitored. Guards checked on him every five minutes asking, Are you okay? Manning had to respond affirmatively each time and guards would take note of each exchange in log books. When guards could not see him clearly at night, like when he had his blanket up over his head or when he was curled up against the wall, the guards would wake Manning up and see if he was okay. And all of the lights were never turned off. There was also a fluorescent light in the hall outside of Mannings cell that was kept on during the night.

These conditions were in addition to the maximum custody conditions imposed, which included being placed in a cell directly in front of the guard post so he could be monitored at all hours of the day, having to wake up at 5 am in the morning, having to stay awake from 5 am to 10 pm every day and not being permitted to lie down or lean his back against the cell wall. He was permitted only 20 minutes of sunshine call where he would be brought to a small concrete yard, about half to a third of the size of a basketball court. In the yard, he could walk around with hand and leg shackles on, while a Brig guard walked at his immediate side. The guards gave him athletic shoes that had no laces and would fall of when he tried to walk. Manning chose to wear boots so his shoes would stay on while walking. He would typically walk in figure-eights and was not allowed to sit down or stay stationary during sunshine call.

By December 10, 2010, he earned a longer period of recreation: one hour each day. He could exercise and move around without shackles or a Brig guard at his side. There was exercise equipment he could access but he would not normally use it because guards would tell him he could not use certain equipment and much of it was unplugged or broken down.

Manning could have non-contact visits on Saturdays and Sundays between noon and 3 pm with approved visitors. During visits, he had to wear hand and leg restraints. He met his visitors in a small 4 by 6 foot room that was separated with a glass partition. His visits were monitored by the guards and they were audio recorded by the Brig. The recording equipment was added by Army CID after PFC Mannings transfer to the Quantico Brig. Contact visits with attorneys were not allowed. Any time he met with his attorneys, he wore shackles on his hands and feet. He was not permitted any work duty. When moved outside his cell, the whole brig would be placed on lockdown, and, while being moved, he was shackled with metal hand and leg restraints and accompanied by at least two guards.

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Bradley Manning - Current Events - Enter the Fray