Convicted WikiLeaker Manning wants to live as woman

(Reuters) Bradley Manning, the U.S. soldier sentenced to 35 years in military prison for the biggest breach of classified documents in the nation's history, said on Thursday he is female and wants to live as a woman named Chelsea.

Manning received the sentence on Wednesday for giving more than 700,000 secret files, videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks. His lawyers had argued the former Army intelligence analyst suffered a sexual identity crisis when he leaked the files while serving in Iraq in 2009 and 2010.

"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning, I am a female," Manning, 25, said in the statement read by anchorwoman Savannah Guthrie on NBC News' "Today" show.

"Given the way that I feel and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible," Manning said. "I also request that starting today you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun."

An Army spokeswoman said the Army does not provide hormone therapy or sex-change surgery.

Manning's lawyer David Coombs said on the TV program he expected his client to get a pardon from U.S. President Barack Obama.

Manning was convicted last month on 20 charges, including espionage and theft. He will serve his sentence at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Coombs has said Manning could be pardoned in seven years.

Coombs said Manning was seeking hormone therapy and not a sex-change operation.

"I'm hoping that Fort Leavenworth will do the right thing and provide that. If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that they are forced to do so," he said.

An Army spokeswoman said in an emailed statement, "The Army does not provide hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery."

Military inmates have access to mental health professionals, including a psychiatrist, psychologist, social workers and behavioral science specialists, she said.

Read full article here.