Chelsea Manning appeals to Obama for release before Trump becomes President
By Will Stroude
Political prisoner Chelsea Manning has appealed to outgoing President Barack Obama to be released from prison before President-elect Trump takes the White House next January. She is currently serving a 35-year-sentence after being convicted in 2013 for leaking more than 700,000 secret military and State Department documents.
Earlier this year Manning was hospitalised after a suicide bid. Shortly after, she embarked on a hunger strike, which only ended after the Army agreed to provide gender affirming surgery.
Yesterday (November 14), Manning tweeted, “I ask @POTUS for #timeserved: A ‘first chance’ to live out of prison as the woman I am”
I ask @POTUS for #timeserved: A "first chance" to live out of prison as the woman I am. https://t.co/YwJCtG2Nsv pic.twitter.com/dqecLBJLOU
— Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) November 14, 2016
A petition to release Manning was also created. It points out that Chelsea “has already served more time in prison than any individual in United States history who disclosed information in the public interest,” adding that she is “a woman in a men’s facility facing ongoing mistreatment.” The petition requires 100,000 signatures by December 14.
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