Dissenters’ Digest takes a look back at the week’s stories covering whistleblowers, watchdogs, and government accountability.

On Tuesday, I will return to Fort Meade, Maryland, where court martial proceedings against Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, resume. The focus of those proceedings will involve an effort by David Coombs, Manning’s defense lawyer, to have an “aiding the enemy” charge dismissed. This is one of the more egregious charges Manning faces and is based on the contention by the government that Manning knowingly provided “intelligence” to al Qaeda and other related terrorist groups indirectly when he allegedly released information to WikiLeaks.

A US soldier who served in Afghanistan released photos to the Los Angeles Times which show American troops posing with the mangled corpses of insurgents or suicide bombers. The photos are not the first to show soldiers posing with dead bodies, and these appear to have been taken two years ago.

A distressing story on rape in the United States military featured stories of women who had been diagnosed with personality disorders for reporting they were sexually assaulted. The story published by CNN found all branches of the armed forces tend to dismiss allegations of sexual assault, which in some instances result in the women being called “lying whores” or something similar.

Numerous complaints about United Kingdom press coverage of WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange’s struggle against being extradited to Sweden have been made by Assange. Those complaints were submitted to the Leveson Inquiry, empaneled to examine culture, practices and ethics of the press in the aftermath of the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The complaints reveal a dogged effort by Assange to challenge an inaccuracy often reported as fact: that he was charged with rape and that is why he is facing extradition.

The defense for Pfc. Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, has tried to put a halt to secrecy in Manning’s court martial proceedings by making court filings available to the public and the press. The government, however, remains opposed to efforts to make the proceedings more transparent. And now, as the defense moves to address concern that the proceedings are happening in secret, the government plans to interfere with the defense’s release of its filings and force the defense to make redactions.

A federal judge allowed a lawsuit against the US government that charges an activist was targeted for his “lawful association” with the Bradley Manning Support Network, an organization initially established to help raise funds for Pfc. Bradley Manning who was accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks.

Testimony in a lawsuit against the United States government is set to begin tomorrow as multiple individuals challenge the Homeland Battlefield Act in a New York City federal court.

The lawsuit is being brought by individuals concerned that the work they engage in could now lead the government to accuse them of being an “associated force” of terrorists as a result of the new law that was signed by President Barack Obama on New Year’s Eve last year.

The plaintiffs bringing the case against the Homeland Battlefield Act—more commonly known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)—have been dubbed by their attorneys as the “Freedom Seven.”

A letter calling on the judge presiding over the court martial proceedings of Pfc. Bradley Manning to grant the press and public access to records in the proceedings has been sent by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). The Center, which represents WikiLeaks and the media organization’s publisher Julian Assange are troubled by the secrecy that has enshrouded the proceedings. They call upon the judge to institute more transparency to better ensure that the proceedings are fair.

Echoing his commander in chief in issuing statements that provide improper command influence in the trial of Bradley Manning, the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, stated unequivocally that Manning broke the law.