Bradley Manning says he wants to live as a woman, be called Chelsea
Manning sent this photo to an Army supervisor in 2010, and it was introduced into evidence at his court martial. ReutersBradley Manning, the US soldier sentenced for leaking classified documents, has said he wants to live the rest of his life as a woman.
Manning faces 35 years in prison for crimes including espionage.
"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me," the 25-year-old said in a written statement provided to NBC channel.
"I also request that starting today you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun, I am Chelsea Manning.
"Given the way I feel and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," the statement said.
On Wednesday, a military court sentenced Manning for handing secret government documents to WikiLeaks, resulting in the US\’ biggest-ever security breach.
The soldier could be released on parole after at least seven years in jail, his civilian lawyer David Coombs has said.
Coombs has asked President Barack Obama to pardon Manning, and has pledged to appeal against the verdict and sentence.
Manning leaked about 700,000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports and US State Department diplomatic cables in 2010 while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq. He also leaked video of a US helicopter attack in Baghdad in which at least nine people were killed, including a Reuters news photographer.
According to the court ruling, Manning would be demoted to private, from private first class, and dishonourably discharged from the US military.
Manning will be imprisoned at the US Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Manning\’s defence attorney David Coombs told NBC he is hoping officials at the military prison will accommodate Manning\’s request for hormone therapy.
If not, "I\’m going to do everything in my power to make sure they are forced to do so," Coombs said.
The army said it does not provide hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery.
"All inmates are considered soldiers and are treated as such with access to mental health professionals, including a psychiatrist, psychologist, social workers and behavioural science noncommissioned officers," army spokesman George Wright said.
Source: Agencies
The Times of Earth ( TOE) founded in 1999, is a multilingual newspaper that is printed and circulated in many countries including some parts of the United States and Canada. It is considered as the largest trusted & respected international multimedia news/financial information source of the world.