Chelsea Manning, the transgender Army whistleblower in prison for sharing classified documents with WikiLeaks, is fighting to avoid another stint in solitary confinement after trying to kill herself last month.
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Activists from the group Fight for the Future delivered a petition with 115,000 signatures to Army Secretary Eric Fanning on Wednesday, calling on the military to provide Manning with “adequate and humane” treatment for the suicide attempt and gender dysphoria, rather than penalize the whistleblower further. The government “had never proven in court that any harm resulted from Manning’s leaks”, Ellsberg said, blasting the Obama administration for “misusing” the Espionage Act, which was “meant for spies and not for whistleblowers acting in the public interest”.
Manning, who is now serving a 35-year prison sentence on Espionage Act violations for sending more than 700,000 classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, was briefly hospitalized on July 5 following a suicide attempt. It is unclear whether other prisoners at Fort Leavenworth would face similar administrative charges after a suicide attempt, or whether the “nature of the charges, and the aggressiveness with which they may be being pursued, is unique to her”, Strangio said.
After sentencing, Manning announced she identified as female and later obtained legal authorization to change her name and receive hormone therapy. The charges carry the maximum penalty of indefinite solitary confinement.
Chase Strangio, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who represents Manning, said army officials have charged her with three administrative offenses: “resisting the force cell move team”, “prohibited property” and “conduct which threatens”. Manning was authorized to have the property in question, her attorney Strangio said, but she allegedly used it in a prohibited way while attempting to take her life.
The government has always been aware of Chelsea’s distress associated with the denial of medical care related to her gender transition and yet delayed and denied the treatment recognized as necessary. After she was arrested in 2010, Manning spent almost a year in solitary confinement. In August, 2015, 100,000 people signed a petition supporting Manning as she faced punishment for being in possession of contraband, including seemingly benign items such as magazines, and tube of toothpaste.
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Manning was found guilty and sentenced to 21 days without access to recreation, including the gym, library and outdoors. Manning’s attorney, Chase Strangio at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Daniel Ellsberg, the whistleblower who leaked information about the US government’s decision-making in the Vietnam War, known as the Pentagon Papers, participated in a press call soon after their delivery. On July 5, Manning reportedly attempted suicide, and was treated at the prison hospital.
