Attorneys confirm Chelsea Manning attempted suicide
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Attorneys for the transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for sending classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks said Monday her hospitalization last week was due to an attempted suicide.
Chelsea Manning’s attorneys, in an email to media outlets, did not disclose details about the attempt early July 5 at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, where the 28-year-old Manning is serving a 35-year sentence.
But the attorneys, who said they spoke to Manning by telephone Monday for the first time since the attempt, accused the U.S. Army of a “gross breach of confidentiality” for publicly revealing last week that Manning had been hospitalized. The Army at that time didn’t offer details.
Manning’s lawyers added that the soldier “knows that people have questions about how she is doing” and will remain under close observation at the lockup for several weeks.