Chelsea Manning’s Lawyers Confirm Whistleblower Was Hospitalized

Above Photo: U.S. Army Private First Class Chelsea Manning, the U.S. soldier convicted of giving classified state documents to WikiLeaks, is pictured dressed as a woman in this 2010 handout photograph obtained from the U.S. Army August 14, 2013. The U.S. military is considering options for the detention of the transgender soldier who is serving 35 years in prison for turning over secret files to WikiLeaks and has requested hormone therapy, including moving the private to a civilian prison, the Pentagon said May 14, 2014. (REUTERS/U.S. Army/Handout)

Lawyers for jailed whistleblower Chelsea Manning confirmed on Friday that the former U.S. soldier was hospitalized and is under medical supervision following reports of a health crisis and virtual silence from the Department of Defense.

“The prison has notified us that Chelsea was hospitalized and remains under a doctor’s care,” Nancy Hollander, one of Manning’s attorneys, said Friday.

“At this time her doctors are recommending against a call and we are respecting those recommendations but are in close touch with the facility and will continue to monitor her condition and hope to connect with her soon,” Hollander said. “To protect her privacy, that is all we can say at the moment.”

Hollander encouraged Manning’s advocates to send messages of support.

Manning is currently serving a 35-year sentence at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for her role in releasing classified government and U.S. military documents to WikiLeaks in 2010. Earlier this week, it was reported that she had been taken to a hospital. One unconfirmed account claimed that the medical visit was related to a suicide attempt.

The Department of Defense has said only that Manning was hospitalized and then returned to the barracks.

As rumors circulated, Manning’s attorneys were reportedly prevented from communicating with her. On Tuesday, a scheduled legal call between Manning and Hollander was said to be canceled and rearranged for Friday.

“We’re shocked and outraged that…no one at the army has given a shred of information to her legal team,” Hollander said Wednesday. “We call on the army to immediately connect Chelsea Manning to her lawyers and friends who care deeply about her wellbeing and are profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea’s current situation.”

Hollander is the lead attorney on Manning’s appeal of her sentence, which the legal team has called “grossly unfair and unprecedented.”