Feds reject DoD move to pawn off Chelsea Manning
July 18, 2014 by the Chelsea Manning Support Network
In a win for heroic WikiLeaks whistle-blower Chelsea (former Bradley) Manning, the Bureau of Prisons denied the Army’s request to transfer Manning into the civilian prison system. This would have allowed the Army to shunt their responsibility to provide proper health care to a transgender service member—a precedent setting situation that they have fought hard to avoid. The Army has now reluctantly agreed to provide a “rudimentary level” of gender-related health care at the Fort Leavenworth military prison, Kansas.
The Chelsea Manning Support Network is pleased to announce that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been retained by Chelsea Manning to represent her interests going forward with this issue.
“We are monitoring the situation to ensure that the Army provides Ms. Manning with medically-necessary treatment consistent with their clear constitutional obligations and are prepared to take any legal action necessary to ensure that Ms. Manning receive the treatment that she needs without any further delay,” noted Chase Strangio, Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT & AIDS Project. Mr. Strangio added:
“Yesterday, an unnamed defense department official leaked that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has authorized the Army to treat Chelsea Manning with “rudimentary” treatment for her diagnosed Gender Dysphoria. Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced last August to 35 years in prison, has been diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria by at least three military doctors and has now been waiting for treatment for nearly a year. Gender Dysphoria is a serious medical condition for which treatment, including hormone therapy, is often medically necessary. Withholding this treatment can lead to serious physical and psychological harms including depression, anxiety and suicidality.”
Receiving care from Fort Leavenworth is a triumph for Chelsea Manning, whose request for treatment, “did not involve any request to be transferred,” stated Chelsea in May. “At the beginning of 2014, the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, KS and the Army Corrections Command were ready to approve and implement a treatment plan that at least conservatively met the standards set forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.”
In May, Manning’s trial attorney David Coombs addressed the Army’s attempt to avoid providing Chelsea with adequate medical care:
“The military absolutely needs to revisit its “policy” on transgender medical care and adapt it to 21st century medical standards. It cannot continue to bury its head in the sand any longer. Although a very small number of military inmates are transferred to federal prison each year, this is only after all appeals have been exhausted and the military inmate has been discharged from the service. Chelsea’s appeals have not yet begun and her transfer to federal prison in these circumstances would be unprecedented.”
Mr. Coombs told the Associated Press yesterday that he was encouraged that the Army will begin medical treatment, noting that he is “hopeful that when the Army says it will start a ‘rudimentary level’ of treatment that this means hormone replacement therapy.”
Meanwhile, Manning’s new appellate legal team, led by Nancy Hollander and Vince Ward, of Albuquerque, NM, have begun preparing for the first stage of legal appeals, beginning with arguments before the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals next year. Supporters of Manning are hopeful that the appeals process will eventually overturn Espionage Act-based aspects of the sentence, possibly reducing jail time by decades. Manning’s significant and ongoing legal fees continue to be paid for by thousands of individual Americans, as well as concerned individuals worldwide.
How Chelsea Manning sees herself -portrait by Alicia Neal
The Chelsea Manning Support Network is pleased to announce that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been retained by Chelsea Manning to represent her interests going forward with this issue.
“We are monitoring the situation to ensure that the Army provides Ms. Manning with medically-necessary treatment consistent with their clear constitutional obligations and are prepared to take any legal action necessary to ensure that Ms. Manning receive the treatment that she needs without any further delay,” noted Chase Strangio, Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s LGBT & AIDS Project. Mr. Strangio added:
“Yesterday, an unnamed defense department official leaked that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has authorized the Army to treat Chelsea Manning with “rudimentary” treatment for her diagnosed Gender Dysphoria. Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced last August to 35 years in prison, has been diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria by at least three military doctors and has now been waiting for treatment for nearly a year. Gender Dysphoria is a serious medical condition for which treatment, including hormone therapy, is often medically necessary. Withholding this treatment can lead to serious physical and psychological harms including depression, anxiety and suicidality.”
Receiving care from Fort Leavenworth is a triumph for Chelsea Manning, whose request for treatment, “did not involve any request to be transferred,” stated Chelsea in May. “At the beginning of 2014, the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, KS and the Army Corrections Command were ready to approve and implement a treatment plan that at least conservatively met the standards set forth by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.”
In May, Manning’s trial attorney David Coombs addressed the Army’s attempt to avoid providing Chelsea with adequate medical care:
“The military absolutely needs to revisit its “policy” on transgender medical care and adapt it to 21st century medical standards. It cannot continue to bury its head in the sand any longer. Although a very small number of military inmates are transferred to federal prison each year, this is only after all appeals have been exhausted and the military inmate has been discharged from the service. Chelsea’s appeals have not yet begun and her transfer to federal prison in these circumstances would be unprecedented.”
Mr. Coombs told the Associated Press yesterday that he was encouraged that the Army will begin medical treatment, noting that he is “hopeful that when the Army says it will start a ‘rudimentary level’ of treatment that this means hormone replacement therapy.”
Meanwhile, Manning’s new appellate legal team, led by Nancy Hollander and Vince Ward, of Albuquerque, NM, have begun preparing for the first stage of legal appeals, beginning with arguments before the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals next year. Supporters of Manning are hopeful that the appeals process will eventually overturn Espionage Act-based aspects of the sentence, possibly reducing jail time by decades. Manning’s significant and ongoing legal fees continue to be paid for by thousands of individual Americans, as well as concerned individuals worldwide.
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