IMPRISONED TRANSGENDER SOLDIER Chelsea Manning was briefly hospitalised this week, amid media reports that the famous intelligence leaker had attempted suicide.

A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP:

“She was taken to a local hospital in the Fort Leavenworth area yesterday morning, and she was returned to the disciplinary barracks yesterday morning.”

The official had no information on Manning’s medical condition.

Celebrity news site TMZ.com cited an unnamed source saying Manning had tried to hang herself and was currently being monitored.

CNN, citing an official who also spoke anonymously, said Manning was hospitalised after an apparent suicide attempt.

Manning’s lawyer and support team were unable to immediately confirm reports.

Originally called Bradley, Manning was convicted in August 2013 of espionage and other offenses after admitting to handing classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.

After sentencing, Manning announced she identified as female and later obtained legal authorisation to change her name and receive hormone therapy.

She remains, however, in a men’s military prison in Kansas, where she is appealing a 35-year sentence.

- © AFP, 2016

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