Bradley Manning lawyers open defence in Wikileaks court martial in Maryland

Bradley Manning arrives for the start of the sixth week of his court martial trial at Fort Meade (Reuters)

Lawyers for Pfc Bradley Manning, who gave classified information to WikiLeaks, have opened their defence at his court martial in Maryland.

As the trial in Fort Meade entered its sixth week, Pfc Manning’s defence team asked the military judge to acquit him of seven charges for lack of evidence.

The government has until Thursday to respond, then Colonel Denise Lind will rule.

The defence seeks acquittal on the most serious charge of aiding the enemy, a computer fraud charge and as many as five counts of theft. The case continues.

AP