Dr objected to suicide watch for WikiLeaks suspect

A military psychiatrist urged US officers to ease harsh detention conditions for WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning but was overruled brig commanders, a witness said Wednesday. Manning, charged with passing a massive trove of secret government documents to the WikiLeaks website, is asking a judge to dismiss his case because of alleged illegal punishment he suffered during his pre-trial detention for nine months at a military brig in Quantico, Virginia. Captain William Hoctor, a US Navy psychiatrist advising the Quantico detention center, disagreed with a decision to keep Manning under strict, maximum security conditions, saying there was no sign the accused was suicidal, a Marine officer told the court. But Colonel Robert Oltman, one of the officers running the brig, said the doctor's view was "only one data point" and that there were other factors to take into account, including weekly reports from prison guards. "I wasn't going to base a decision on his input alone," Oltman said under questioning by Manning's defense lawyer, David Coombs. Oltman also said he had concerns about the doctor's credibility as Hoctor allegedly had concluded another detainee did not pose a suicide risk but the man ended up killing himself. Manning is expected to take the stand for the first time this week during the latest round of pre-trial hearings that began Tuesday at Fort Meade, Maryland, north of the US capital. Manning, 24, could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted of aiding the enemy with the massive leak, which embarrassed the US government and rankled Washington's allies. In the worst security breach in US history, the leaks included hundreds of thousands of military intelligence logs from Iraq and Afghanistan and roughly 25,000 sensitive diplomatic cables.  Manning's lawyer appeared to be constructing an argument at this week's hearing that officers imposed strict solitary confinement on the Army private under pressure from top brass at the Pentagon and against the advice of medical professionals and the military's own regulations. His line of questioning honed in on the role of a three-star Marine officer at the Pentagon, Lieutenant General George Flynn, who took a keen interest in the high-profile case, according to emails cited by the defense. Flynn made clear in emails that he wanted to be kept informed and that officers ensure Manning did not commit suicide while detained at the Marine Corps brig, Oltman said. When pressed by the defense lawyer, Oltman acknowledged that he would have consulted Flynn if he disagreed with any plans on Manning's detention. The defense also questioned Oltman about an email from a legal adviser that concluded Manning's treatment appeared to be in violation of military rules on detention.