Is U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning a hero for leaking classified government information to WikiLeaks, or is he a criminal? While public opinion is divided, that hasn't stopped the international community from nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2010, Manning allegedly obtained hundreds of thousands of U.S. Army documents, most pertaining to operations in Iraq, and tens of thousands pertaining to operations in Afghanistan. Among his charges, Manning is linked to video footage that depicts U.S. troops killing a journalist (warning: very graphic content) in Iraq, an event which the U.S. government allegedly concealed.

Manning has been charged with 22 separate crimes related to the leaks, and is currently being held by the government in Kuwait. The most serious of the charges, "aiding the enemy," carries the possibility of the death penalty.

This is not the first time that WikiLeaks has been on the mind of the Nobel nominating committee. In 2011, WikiLeaks itself received a nomination for the Peace Prize honor. A total of 231 people were nominated for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, including Russian human rights advocate Svetlana Gannushkina and a former prime minister of the Ukraine. The winner of the prize will be announced in October.

[Image source: Takver]

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This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca

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