Chelsea Manning Faces Indefinite Solitary Confinement Over Absurd Charges

Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army private serving 35 years in prison for leaking government documents, said she was found guilty on four charges of prison misconduct, though she was spared the possible sentence of solitary confinement.

Manning was accused of brushing food onto the floor during meal time, disrespect of an officer, “medicine misuse” for possessing a tube of expired toothpaste, and possessing prohibited reading material, including the Vanity Fair issue featuring Caitlyn Jenner and copies of The Advocate and Out magazines.

Prison authorities are denying Chelsea Manning access to the institution’s legal library ahead of a key hearing which may land her in “indefinite” solitary confinement.

One of the world’s most well-known military whistleblowers, Chelsea Manning, is facing the prospect of indefinite solitary confinement.

The former intelligence analyst was convicted of espionage and other offenses for sending classified documents to WikiLeaks.

The situation has thrust Manning into the spotlight as the tip of the spear for conversations around the treatment of transgendered inmates and the thin line between “whistleblower” and “traitor”.

Born Bradley, Manning announced after the sentencing that he had felt like a woman since childhood and asked to be called Chelsea. Manning says she has not been allowed to consult the prison’s legal library ahead of the hearing, scheduled for Tuesday. The petition received support from Roots Action, Demand Progress and Code Pink, and by Monday afternoon had over 90,000 signatures.

Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future, added, “The U.S. government has a terrifying track record of using imprisonment and torture to silence free speech and dissenting voices”. Activists plan to hand the petition to the Army liaison in Congress on Tuesday, ahead of Manning’s disciplinary hearing. “We are hopeful that the prison will respond by dismissing these charges and ensuring that she is not unfairly targeted based on her activism, her identity, or her pending lawsuit”. This denial of access to information that might help her make her case is especially problematic because lawyers are not permitted to be present with their incarcerated clients at disciplinary hearings. Hansen said it is unlikely that prison officials would go after Manning just for having reading material and that there may be more behind the charges.