Manning says he wants to ‘live as a woman’
24 Aug 2013 4:50 AM IST
Bradley Manning plans to live as a woman named Chelsea and wants to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible, the US soldier said on Thursday, a day after being sentenced to 35 years in prison for the biggest leak of classified material in US history.
Manning announced the decision in a written statement provided to NBC, asking supporters to refer to him by his new name and the feminine pronoun. The statement was signed ‘ Chelsea E Manning.’ ‘As I enter 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,’ the statement read.
Manning's defense 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. Coombs did not respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press on Thursday.
Manning's struggle with gender identity disorder, the sense of being a woman trapped in a man's body, was key to the defense. Attorneys had presented evidence of Manning's struggle with gender identity.
Manning announced the decision in a written statement provided to NBC, asking supporters to refer to him by his new name and the feminine pronoun. The statement was signed ‘ Chelsea E Manning.’ ‘As I enter 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,’ the statement read.
Manning's defense 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. Coombs did not respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press on Thursday.
Manning's struggle with gender identity disorder, the sense of being a woman trapped in a man's body, was key to the defense. Attorneys had presented evidence of Manning's struggle with gender identity.
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