A friend of the alleged whistleblower, U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, says the U.S. government’s treatment of Manning amounts to torture. David House is one of the few people who have been allowed to visit Manning, who is being held at a military base in Quantico, Virginia.

bq.David House: “I went and saw him again in December, this last December, and it was completely alarming, this transition that happened to him. He was ashen-faced, had huge bags under his eyes, and he had trouble keeping up with topics of conversation, something that had never been a problem for him. So it’s — this confinement, this solitary confinement, has really taken a huge toll on him, definitely. From meeting with Bradley, from getting to know him and from watching his state degrade over time, the only conclusion I can reach is that this is torture.”