The US Army private who was convicted as Bradley Edward Manning for leaking US secrets to whistleblower website WikiLeaks is petitioning a court for a name change, to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning. <\/p>\n
Leavenworth County District Court in Kansas has scheduled an April 23 hearing on the request, according to a Leavenworth Times legal notice sent on Wednesday by a spokesman at Fort Leavenworth, where Manning is serving a 35-year sentence. <\/p>\n
The petition was filed on January 27 and published on March 1 after it was submitted by Manning's lawyer, David Coombs. <\/p>\n
Coombs didn't immediately respond to questions about the petition. Manning said in an October letter to supporters that Coombs would help with the name change. <\/p>\n
The Private Manning Support Network announced the petition on its website on Wednesday. The group also said it is changing its name to the Chelsea Manning Support Network. <\/p>\n
Officials at Fort Leavenworth have said Manning would have to get a legal name change to be known as Chelsea. <\/p>\n
Manning has been diagnosed by at least two Army behavioural health specialists with gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder. <\/p>\n
In addition to the name change, Manning has asked to receive hormone replacement therapy and live as a woman while incarcerated. She and Coombs have said they will go to court, if necessary, to obtain the hormone treatment. <\/p>\n
Civilian federal prisons are required to provide such treatment, if deemed medically necessary, for inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Unlike in military prisons, the policy also allows inmates who believe they are the wrong gender to dress and live accordingly as part of their individual treatment plans. <\/p>\n
The military has said it does not provide treatment for gender dysphoria because Pentagon policy dictates that transgender soldiers are not allowed to serve. But Manning can't be discharged until he's released from prison and exhausts appeals of her criminal convictions. <\/p>\n
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