Bradley Manning faces less restrictive conditions according to the Pentagon

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas (AFP) –

Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of leaking cables to WikiLeaks, faces far less restrictive conditions after being relocated to a new prison, according to the Pentagon. Reporters taken on a tour of the new military detention facility in Kansas were not allowed to see Manning’s eight by two-meter (26 by six-foot) cell. However officials said that he would be entitled to outdoor recreation, unlimited pay phone use and five visits a day.

Manning, accused of passing classified documents to the whistleblowing website, was transferred here from a US Marine base in Quantico, Virginia on April 20 after what his supporters described as unnecessarily harsh conditions.

But military officials insisted during a tour for journalists on Thursday that he will interact with other prisoners and enjoy a range of services in the freshly-painted facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Manning, who had spent most of his incarceration in isolation, will be placed in "medium custody" with other inmates, officials said.

His cell contains a simple bed, a metal toilet welded to the wall, a table and a stool, a picture handed to journalists showed.