WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning faces 22 new charges

Bradley Manning, a former intelligence analyst suspected of obtaining thousands of classified documents while serving in Iraq and leaking them to WikiLeaks, is being held at a Marine base in Virginia.

US officials are investigating last year’s publication of State Department cables and military documents by WikiLeaks related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US Army’s new charges against Manning include “aiding the enemy” and “wrongfully causing intelligence to be published on the Internet”, the military said in a statement.

Read more: Bradley Manning - life before WikiLeaks

Writing on Twitter Bradley Manning’s lawyer, David Coombs, said the most significant additional charge is Article 104 “aiding the enemy”.

The military will not seek the death penalty against Manning, it said in its statement, even though an “aiding the enemy” charge is a capital offence under military law. Manning could face life in prison if convicted.

Manning, 23, had previously faced a host of charges including downloading and transmitting to an unauthorised person a classified video of a 2007 helicopter attack which killed a dozen people in Baghdad.

The WikiLeaks affair was a major blow to the United States as allies and adversaries around the world saw themselves mocked or second-guessed in secret diplomatic cables.

Read more: Secret war files - Afghanistan to Iraq 

It also raised questions about the Obama administration’s ability to keep a lock on electronic information.

The Private’s trial has been delayed as a panel looks into his mental state. Depending on the results of that panel, a Grand Jury may be convened.

Julian Assange, the Australian computer expert behind the WikiLeaks website that has been strongly condemned by the Obama administration, has denied knowing Manning. But he has accused the United States of using the jailed soldier to build a case against him.