Punishing a whistleblower

 Mr. Manning's treatment is reminiscent of the Central Intelligence Agency's infamous enhanced interrogation techniques used with impunity during the Bush era against detainees at Guantanamo. Significantly, the White House today is guilty of supporting the very kind of extra-judicial methods that Barack Obama the candidate pledged to end and even outlaw in the run up to the 2008 elections. While the Bush administration at least allowed the Red Cross to have access to Guantanamo inmates, the current administration has taken a step back in refusing to allow the U.N. rapporteur to meet privately with Mr. Manning. The Manning case is proof yet again of the hypocrisy and double standards that govern Washington's attitude towards human rights and the rule of law. Equally disturbing, from the point of view of international precedent, is the fact that Washington seems intent on making an example of someone who is essentially a whistleblower. The financial targeting of WikiLeaks is of a piece with the same vindictive mindset.

States are entitled to protect their secrets and punish those who break the law. But there is a line they must not cross in trying to do so. In the Manning case, the U.S. has crossed that line.
 

 The Hindu