[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] said Thursday that Chelsea Manning is being investigated [press release] for charges in relation to her recent attempt at suicide. Manning, the Army solider convicted of releasing classified and sensitive military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks [advocacy website], is currently facing a 35-year sentence and, if convicted of the “administrative offenses,” could face the rest of those 35 years in solitary confinement. These “administrative offenses” [charge sheet, PDF] consist of “resisting the force cell move team,” “prohibited property,” and “conduct which threatens.” ACLU Staff Attorney Chase Strangio issued a statement in which he was deeply critical of the Army’s handling of Manning, in particular the “denial of medical care related to her gender transition” despite “the treatment [being] recognized as necessary.” Strangio went on to say that “while Chelsea is suffering the darkest depression she has experienced since her arrest, the government is taking actions to punish her for that pain.” The report goes on to say that the Army continues to deny necessary medical care to Chelsea, including medical treatment following her suicide attempt.

Manning’s trial [JURIST op-ed] has garnered much debate. This May Manning appealed [JURIST report] her 35-year prison sentence. In 2013 Manning filed for a presidential pardon of the 35-year sentence [JURIST reports]. The sentence came a month after she was found guilty [JURIST report] of violating the Espionage Act, but was acquitted of the more serious charge of “aiding the enemy.” The judge had raised the burden of proof [JURIST report] in order to require the government to prove that Manning “knowingly” aided al Qaeda. Manning pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to 10 of the 22 charges against her for providing classified materials to Wikileaks.