Chelsea Manning, the U.S. soldier sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment for her role in the publication of a vast trove of classified information by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, was hospitalized early Tuesday after what media reports characterized as a suicide attempt.
Manning, 28, was taken to the hospital and has since been returned to confinement, an Army official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the case. The service said Wednesday it was preparing a statement to disclose details about the incident.
CNN and TMZ reported Wednesday that the medical treatment was prompted by a suicide attempt, citing unnamed defense officials. TMZ reported that Manning attempted to hang herself, citing an unnamed source.
Attempts to reach WikiLeaks and Manning’s criminal lawyer, David Coombs, were not immediately successful. Army officials at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, where Manning is imprisoned, referred questions to the Pentagon.
Manning was convicted in July 2013 of violating the Espionage Act and other crimes when she was still known as Bradley Manning. She transitioned from male to female after her conviction and has kept a relatively high profile while behind bars, writing opinion pieces for The Guardian and pressing for the right to receive hormone treatments while imprisoned.
Manning wrote about the U.S. military’s recent decision to repeal the ban on transgender troops in a piece published July 1, saying it was a necessary step toward protecting and recognizing the humanity of transgender people. But she also criticized the military’s plans, saying they fall short of what is needed.
In particular, Manning took issue with a new requirement that transgender people may serve so long as they are certified to be stable for 18 months after transitioning. The new plan has generally been greeted with optimism by repeal advocates, but Manning called it a misuse of established standards of medical care.
“What is the stability of gender?” Manning wrote. “Isn’t gender an inherently unstable concept – always being constrained by the various context and rules under which we live?”
Manning also questioned whether the new rules will apply to U.S. troops who are incarcerated.
“I am deeply concerned that like so many policies, the impact of this change won’t penetrate the prison walls,” she wrote. “What does it mean that the military will recognize our gender, unless and until we are arrested, and then what? This core identity is then stripped away and our birth assigned sex is imposed on us?”
