Former Army intelligence officer Chelsea Manning attempted suicide in jail on Wednesday and is recovering at a hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, according to the whistleblower’s lawyers.
The attempt comes two days before a hearing before U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga on a motion related to charges of contempt for Manning’s refusal to testify in front of a grand jury about connections to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Lawyers representing the activist said a court appearance would take place despite the suicide attempt.
“Ms. Manning is still scheduled to appear on Friday for a previously-calendared hearing, at which Judge Anthony Trenga will rule on a motion to terminate the civil contempt sanctions stemming from her May 2019 refusal to give testimony before a grand jury investigating the publication of her 2010 disclosures,” said a statement provided by the lawyers.
Manning, 32, was convicted on charges including espionage at a 2013 court martial for sending 750,000 classified and sensitive documents to Assange, which included internal U.S. military war logs in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Assange has been embroiled in a legal process in the United Kingdom. U.S. officials requested his extradition in June 2019, claiming the Australian had “actively solicited United States classified information.”
Manning claims to be a journalist who attempted to give the public a look into a troubled war effort.
“I object to this grand jury,” wrote Manning to Trenga last year. “As an effort to frighten journalists and publishers, who serve a crucial public good. I have had these values since I was a child, and I’ve had years of confinement to reflect on them. For much of that time, I depended for survival on my values, my decisions, and my conscience. I will not abandon them now.”
In 2013, Manning pleaded guilty to 10 of 22 charges, including five counts for espionage. The former Army officer was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but the sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama after serving seven years. Manning attempted suicide twice while imprisoned in 2016.
Manning was found in contempt of court on March 8, 2019, and has been in prison since.
