Multiple sources are reporting that Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced to 35 years in prison for helping the website WikiLeaks obtain classified information, was hospitalized on Tuesday after a reported suicide attempt.
“TMZ is reporting that Manning attempted to hang herself; however they will not reveal their source regarding the information.”
Manning, 28, was taken to the hospital but was returned to confinement according to an Army spokesperson who declined to discuss the nature of the incident. TMZ is reporting that Manning attempted to hang herself; however they will not reveal their source regarding the information.
Nancy Hollander, Manning’s lead attorney, claims the Army is blocking her from speaking with her client and that they will not allow her to speak with Manning until Friday. “I had a privileged call scheduled with Chelsea at 2 p.m. Leavenworth time yesterday, after the Army has now said she was hospitalized, but the Army gave the excuse — which I now believe to be an outright lie—that the call could not be connected although my team was waiting by the phone,” said Hollander in a statement. “We call on the Army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her well-being and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea’s current situation,” Hollander also said.
Chelsea Manning was convicted for violating the Espionage Act and other crimes in July 2013 for releasing over 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks. She made headlines after deciding to transition in prison and with her battle to receive hormone treatments while serving her 35 year sentence. Manning most recently wrote an article for The Guardian, praising the lifting of the transgender military ban, but stating it did not go far enough while calling the military “gatekeepers” with regards to someone’s gender transition. Manning was eventually allowed to receive hormone treatments. She was also allowed to wear women’s undergarments and some cosmetics as part of her prescribed treatment for gender dysphoria. As recently as 2015, Manning was not allowed to grow her hair while in prison, citing security concerns by the Army. She is not scheduled to be released from prison until the year 2048.
