A day after he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking more than 700,000 documents to Wikileaks, whistleblower Bradley Manning has made the startling announcement that henceforth he plans to live as a woman and begin hormone therapy as soon as possible.
In a written statement provided to NBC’s ‘Today’ show on Thursday, Manning said, “As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible.”
Manning’s defence attorney David Coombs, who was present as the statement was read out, had presented evidence of the soldier’s struggle with gender identity, including a photo showing him in a blond wig and lipstick.
Coombs told the network that Manning has not indicated whether he would be pursuing sex change surgery. “I don’t know about the sex reassignment surgery,” Coombs said, remarking: “Chelsea hasn’t indicated that would be her desire, but as far as the hormone therapy, yes.”
“I’m hoping Fort leavenworth (military base in Kansas where Manning has spent much of the detention so far) would do the right thing and provide that,” Coombs said.
Civil rights groups, meanwhile, have condemned the 35 year prison sentence awarded to Manning. “When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system,” said the American Civil liberties Union.
Coombs himself has said that he would seek a presidential pardon for his client. Wikileaks issued a statement, terming Manning’s trial and conviction had been “an affront to basic concepts of Western justice”
“The only just outcome in Manning’s case is his unconditional release, compensation for the unlawful treatment he has undergone, and a serious commitment to investigating the wrongdoing his alleged disclosures have brought to light,” Wikileaks said, adding that Manning’s treatment was “intended to send a signal to people of conscience in the US Government who might seek to bring wrongdoing to light”.