Chelsea Manning released from prison after Obama grants clemency

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has reportedly been released from prison after serving seven years for leaking hundreds of thousands of military

files to Wikileaks.

According to the BBC, an army spokesperson confirmed Manning had left Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas. In January she tweeted that she wanted to move to Maryland after being released.

"She's ready to finally be able to live as the woman that she is," her lawyer Nancy Hollander told the BBC.

Chelsea Manning has issued her first statement since having her 35-year prison sentence commuted ahead of her scheduled release from military prison next week.

The 29-year-old, born Bradley Manning, had been deployed to Iraq as an intelligence analyst when she leaked hundreds of thousands of files to Wikileaks.

The files included video footage of an Apache helicopter killing 12 civilians in Baghdad in 2007. Manning was convicted of 20 charges in connection with the leaks, including espionage.

In 2013, after being sentenced to 35 years' jail, Manning revealed she had felt female since childhood and wanted to live as a woman called Chelsea. She defended her role in the the leaks saying she wanted to spark a public debate about US foreign policy and the role of the military, but later apologised for "hurting the US". Earlier this year most of what remained of her sentence was commuted by then-US president Barack Obama.

She was acquitted of the most serious charge, aiding the enemy. Critics said the leaks laid bare some of the nation's most-sensitive secrets and endangered information sources.