In declaring that Pfc. Bradley Manning “broke the law” in allegedly handing classified military records to the international whistle-blowing group WikiLeaks, President Obama and Manning’s critics have unlawfully told the courts to find Manning guilty, a writer on the accused’s support team says.

Prosecutors and the military have joined Manning’s critics in mishandling the case, Nathan Fuller says, by holding Manning in pretrial detention conditions that the U.N. said border on torture. Newly surfaced emails show that Lt. Gen. George Flynn ordered solitary confinement for Manning against psychiatrists’ recommendations and other abusive treatment at the Quantico Marine brig in Virginia.

Manning’s premature punishment and the determination of his guilt by the highest office of the U.S. government before a trial has begun break laws prescribing due process, Fuller says.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.