A US Army private charged in a massive leak of government secrets claims his harsh pre-trial treatment during nine months in a military prison was directed from high up the chain of command and warrants dismissal of the entire case, according to documents his civilian lawyer has released.

The 110-page motion alleges Private Bradley Manning developed a rash from being forced to sleep beneath a stiff, suicide-prevention blanket and suffered an anxiety attack due to harassment by guards. It repeats well-publicised claims that Manning was forced for several days to surrender all his clothing at night and stand naked in his cell for roll call.

For several days in January 2011, he was forbidden to wear his glasses and forced to strip to his underwear during the day, the motion contends.

Manning faces 22 charges for allegedly sending hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and war logs to the secret-spilling website WikiLeaks. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of the most serious offence, aiding the enemy.

The Defence Department has said Manning's treatment properly conformed to the ''maximum custody'' or ''prevention of injury'' classifications in which he was held in Quantico, Virginia, from July 2010 to April 2011, when he was moved to medium security at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.