Whistleblower Chelsea Manning (29) has been released from U.S. prison

According to a statement by the U.S. army, Chelsea was released from the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

In 2010, Bradley E. Manning was arrested after leaking a huge number of classified documents. His intention was to expose truths about the civil war in Iraq. He acknowledges leaking the information but claims he wanted to raise awareness of the impact the U.S. military actions have on innocent civilians. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. After his conviction, Bradley stated he would continue his life as Chelsea E. Manning.

Despite being transgender and identifying herself as a woman, Chelsea had to sit out her sentence in the men’s prison. She attempted to take her life twice and after a hunger strike in 2016, she received permission for a sex change operation. Chelsea stated before her release, she hopes to use her experience to help others.

In total, Chelsea served 7 years of her 35-year sentence thanks to former president Barack Obama who absolved the remainder of her sentence.