Bradley Manning Faced Prosecutors In Wikileaks Hearing

Military prosecutors had their first opportunity today to ask questions of the Army private at the center of the WikiLeaks scandal. on the fourth day of a pretrial hearing at Fort Meade near Baltimore.

Pfc. Bradley Manning says he tied a bedsheet into a noose while considering suicide during his pretrial confinement.

Manning is seeking dismissal of his case, claiming he was illegally punished by being held for nine months in restrictive conditions designed to prevent self-harm.

Manning testified under cross-examination that he made the noose in Kuwait before he was moved to a Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va.

He arrived at Quantico classified as a suicide risk. Eight days later, he was upgraded to the less-restrictive "prevention of injury'' status. Officers at Quantico nonetheless kept him under a restricted status fearing he may repeat the actions of a previous inmate who committed suicide.

Manning maintains that neither designation was appropriate because he didn't feel like hurting himself after leaving Kuwait. A Navy psychologist said something similar during testimony Wednesday, saying that the increased restrictions under which Manning was confined were unnecessary.