U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning tried to end her own life in prison where she is serving a 35-year sentence for espionage, her lawyers confirmed late Monday.
Manning, who was convicted in 2013 of sending more than 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks, was taken to the hospital early on July 5.
"I am okay," she said in a tweet late Monday. "I'm glad to be alive. Thank you all for your love. I will get through this."
She was returned from the hospital to the all-male U.S. Disciplinary Barracks in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where her lawyers were unable to reach her.
“After not connecting with Chelsea for over a week, we were relieved to speak with her this morning,” attorneys Chase Strangio, Vincent Ward and Nancy Hollander said in a joint statement.
They condemned the Army’s decision to confirm her hospitalization as a “gross breach of confidentiality,” and said they were speaking on her behalf in order to reassure her friends and supporters.
“She knows that people have questions about how she is doing and she wants everyone to know that she remains under close observation by the prison and expects to remain on this status for the next several weeks,” the statement said.
“For us, hearing Chelsea’s voice after learning that she had attempted to take her life last week was incredibly emotional. She is someone who has fought so hard for so many issues we care about and we are honored to fight for her freedom and medical care.”
Last August, Manning was found guilty of violating jail rules. Military officials have denied her request to grow her hair in accordance with female grooming standards.
