WASHINGTON — (CNN) Former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning was hospitalized Tuesday, the result of what a source told CNN is believed to be a suicide attempt.
Manning was taken to a local hospital near the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she is being held for violating the Espionage Act.
U.S. Army spokesman Colonel Patrick Seiber confirmed to CNN that Manning was taken to the hospital “during the early hours of July 5th” before returning to the barracks. The spokesman said that officials “continue to monitor the inmate’s condition.”
A U.S. official told CNN’s Barbara Starr that Manning was hospitalized after what is believed to be a suicide attempt.
Chase Strangio, Manning’s attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union, told CNN that he has been unable to confirm the report.
“I am still trying to figure out what is happening,” Strangio said. “I have unfortunately not been contacted by Leavenworth and have no additional information.”
Manning, 28, is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for her role in leaking government documents to Wikileaks.
In May, her attorneys formally appealed that conviction, arguing that “(n)o whistleblower in American history has been sentenced this harshly.”
Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, was born male. In 2013, she asked to be recognized as a woman, and last year, the Army agreed to provide her with hormone therapy.
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