Wikileaks soldier is charged with aiding the enemy

A US Army private suspected of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website was charged with aiding the enemy, a crime that can carry the death penalty.

The army filed 22 new charges against Pte 1st Class Bradley E Manning, 23, including causing intelligence information to be published on the internet.

They involve the alleged distribution by the military analyst of more than 250,000 confidential State Department cables and Iraq and Afghanistan war logs.

Aiding the enemy is a capital offence under the code of military justice but Army prosecutors told Manning's defence team that it will not recommend the death penalty to the two-star general in charge of the case. They are expected to demand a life sentence.

The new charges accuse Manning of using unauthorised software on government computers to extract classified information, illegally download it and transmit the data for public release by "the enemy". "The new charges more accurately reflect the broad scope of the crimes that Pte 1st Class Manning is accused of committing," said Capt John Haberland, a legal spokesman for the military district of Washington. His trial is expected to start in May or June.

Manning's supporters were outraged. "It's beyond ironic that leaked US State Department cables have contributed to revolution and revolt in dictatorships across the Middle East and North Africa, yet an American may be executed, or at best face life in prison, for being the primary whistleblower," said Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist that is raising funds for Manning's defence.

Manning, from Oklahoma, is being held in maximum security at a Marine Corps base in Virginia.