Chelsea Manning pleads for help to ‘keep appeal going’ amid growing legal bills
Jailed whistleblower Chelsea Manning has pleaded for help to keep her appeal going – amid a number of mounting legal bills.
Private Manning, who announced her transition to female in 2013, is currently imprisoned in Fort Leavenworth military prison after leaking details of classified documents via Wikileaks.
The whistleblower is currently appealing her 35-year prison sentence and suing for her right to transition behind bars. The US Military has continued to refer to the data analyst by her former gender and former name and until recently blocked gender treatment.
The former data analyst has today warned that her appeal might not go ahead, amid a series of mounting legal bills totalling over $100,000.
Dictating tweets over the phone from prison, she wrote: “Bad news: the appeal is nearly $100,000 behind in the bills =(
“I really need your donations to keep my appeal going, especially right now.
“The attorneys Nancy Hollander and Vince have been working extra hard at going through the largest record of trial in US Military history.
“We only have one shot to make several points in our case at the Army Court of Criminal Appeals in the next year. We will certainly be bringing up the Quantico treatment issues at that time.”
Despite the threat that the case might not go ahead, she tweeted: “I’m still very optimistic about the case and funding for it! But I really need your help.”
Private Manning asked for donations via the Chelsea Manning Support Network.
Since joining Twitter, Manning has shared a view of her life behind bars – as well as a number of profound messages.
My life operates on a scale of weeks, months, and years, not seconds, minutes, and hours
— Chelsea Manning (@xychelsea) April 6, 2015
In February, she was finally granted access to hormone treatment.
