FORT MEADE, Md. – Supporters of an Army private charged in the biggest security breach in U.S. history packed a military courtroom on Tuesday as his attorneys made the case he'd already been punished enough when he was locked up alone in a small cell for nine months and forced to sleep naked for several nights.

As the pretrial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning began at Fort Meade near Baltimore, about two dozen Manning backers who'd held up signs of support outside the post went inside to watch the proceedings, many wearing black t-shirts with the word "Truth" in white lettering. The Army private is charged with spilling U.S. secrets to the website WikiLeaks.

The U.S. government claims the disclosures endangered lives and security. Manning supporters say the leaks exposed war crimes and triggered pro-democracy uprisings in the Middle East.