Whistleblower Chelsea Manning Attempts Suicide Ahead Of Friday Court Hearing - Lawyers

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2020) US army whistleblower Chelsea Manning attempted to commit suicide and is recovering in a Virginia hospital, her legal team said in a statement.

"On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, Chelsea Manning attempted to take her own life. She was taken to a hospital and is currently recovering," the statement said.

Manning, the release added, is still scheduled to appear on Friday before a Federal judge who will rule on whether to terminate civil contempt sanctions stemming from her refusal to testify to a grand jury investigating the publication of her 2010 disclosures.

Manning was sentenced to 35 years in a military jail for leaking vast numbers of military and diplomatic files and documents to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. She was credited with exposing US human rights violations and potential war crimes in Iraq, among other abuses.

Then-US President Barack Obama commuted her sentence after seven years.