In an emailed statement provided to Common Dreams by Chelsea Manning via the Chelsea Manning Support Network, Manning said the following in response to the latest developments concerning his request to receive hormone therapy treatment while incarcerated at Ft. Leavenworth Prison:
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In response to the AP reporting (see below), Chelsea Manning’s attorney, David E. Coombs, released a statement (pdf) on Wednesday, which read in part:
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, according to reports, has approved a plan to transfer Chelsea Manning, the celebrated whistleblower and former Army intelligence officer who leaked hundreds of thousands of documents to Wikileaks, from a military prison where she is now serving sentence to a civilian prison.
The idea of transfer, which has been approved but not finalized, would allow Manning to receive the hormone therapy she has requested in order to help complete her desire to live as a woman. As a military facility, Ft. Leavenworth Prison, where Manning is currently incarcerated does not provide such treatment, but federal prisons do.