"Democracy is when both privates and generals are put on trial for breaching the law" - Russian MP

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**Manning’s sentence shows that American democracy goes wrong - Russian MP -

A 35-year prison sentence for WikiLeaks informer Bradley Banning shows that in the United States it’s “privates” and not their superiors that stand trial for breaching the law, which is a glaring sign that something is going wrong in the American democracy, Alexei Pushkov, head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia’s lower house of parliament, said on Wednesday.

“A private has stood trial for breaching the US laws, but none of the generals, who lied to the American nation and who claimed that the system for tapping phone calls and intercepting Internet mail had not been used against Americans, appeared before court,” he said.

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The phones of millions of Americans were tapped, yet, those who shielded the lawless
methods practiced by American secret services have not been called to account, but on the contrary, still keep their jobs, Pushkov said.
“Democracy is when both privates and generals are put on trial for breaching the law. If it’s only privates who are prosecuted, while generals are not – this is not democracy… The Manning case highlighted the practice that clashes with the principles proclaimed by the United States,” he concluded.
Voice of Russia, RIA