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“This is like prison disciplinary infractions in a civilian prison and there will be a hearing, but frankly it looks to me like harassment,” Hollander said.

The military had no immediate comment Wednesday.

The prison charges include possession of prohibited property in the form of books and magazines while under administrative segregation; medicine misuse over the toothpaste; disorderly conduct for sweeping food onto the floor; and disrespect. All relate to alleged conduct on July 2 and 9. The maximum penalty Manning could face is indefinite solitary confinement.

“It is not uncommon in prisons to have charges that to the rest of us seem to be absurd,” Hollander said. “Prisons are very controlled environments and they try to keep them very controlled and sometimes in that control they really go too far and I think that this is going too far.”

Hollander is particularly troubled by the fact that Manning’s reading material was taken away from her, including a novel about transgender issues, the book “Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy — The Many Faces of Anonymous,” the book “I am Malala,” an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine containing an interview with Manning and the U.S. Senate report on CIA torture.

“There is certainly no security risk, and that could impinge on her free speech rights and attempt to silence her,” she said.