WikiLeaks suspect treated like 'zoo animal': Lawyer

FORT MEADE, Maryland (AFP) - In his final plea to have charges dropped against WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning, a defence lawyer on Tuesday compared his harsh detention conditions to those of a "zoo animal."

Manning's solitary confinement - under 24-hour watch, forced to sleep naked in a tiny cell for all but 20 minutes a day - was "a clear violation" of the US code of military justice, defence lawyer David Coombs said.

"There was this eight-by-six (foot) cell, that was PFC (Private First Class) Manning's life," Mr Coombs said, as both the defence and the prosecution wrapped up arguments to close off a dramatic phase of pre-trial hearings.

"Every moment of your life is going to be subjected to being watched... watched or viewed almost as a zoo animal," Mr Coombs said.