CHELSEA Manning attempted suicide in a Virgina jail cell on Wednesday after refusing to testify in a WikiLeaks probe, her lawyers say.

The ex-army intelligence analyst - who leaked 700,000 classified US documents - reportedly tried to hang herself with a sheet at the Alexandra Detention Center.

Manning is fighting for her life after the failed suicide bid Credit: AP:Associated Press

A demonstrator holds a sign during a protest to support WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Barcelona last month Credit: AFP or licensors

She tried to take her own life in this jail Credit: Alexandria Detention Center

She was reportedly found with a pulse at around 1pm and was still breathing as she was rushed to hospital after the March 11 suicide bid, which left her fighting for her life.

Manning, 31, got seven years behind bars in a military prison for handing over hundreds of thousands of classified US documents to Julian Assange's WikiLeaks in 2010.

She is still scheduled to appear at a hearing on Friday, where a judge will rule whether she will be sanctioned for refusal to testify before a grand jury about leaking the secret documents.

"In spite of those sanctions — which have so far included over a year of so-called 'coercive' incarceration and nearly half a million dollars in threatened fines — she remains unwavering in her refusal," her lawyers said.

In their statement, Manning's legal team said she would not "participate in a secret grand jury process that she sees as highly susceptible to abuse."

"Ms. Manning has previously indicated that she will not betray her principles, even at risk of grave harm to herself," it read.

MailOnline reported that guards revived her after she was discovered in her cell "blue and unresponsive."

Manning twice refused to testify before a grand jurt Credit: EPA

She reportedly tried to hang herself with a sheet Credit: U.S. Army

A source told the publication: "A jail deputy discovered her while conducting a check in the special housing unit where Chelsea is being housed.

"They found her with a sheet around her neck. Other deputies arrived and first aid was administered before she was taken to the hospital."

Manning was sentenced to 35 years for the WikiLeaks scandal but President Barack Obama commuted her sentence and she was released in May 2017.

She was called to testify to a grand jury last March about her dealings with Assange and WikiLeaks after handing over classified information.

Australian journalist Assange remains locked up in Belmarsh Prison in the UK fighting his extradition to the US after years of arbituary detention.

The 48-year-old - who is facing 18 charges here over the publication of US cables and plotting to hack a Pentagone computer - may get 175 years if he's found guilty.

But Manning claimed that the grand jury probe into her connection with Assange's publishing company was “an effort to frighten journalists and publishers, who serve a crucial public good.”

A judge found her in contempt of court and jailed her indefinitely after she refused to comply and accused the government of abusing the jury system.

When the grand jury's mandate expired two months later, Manning was released - but she was asked to testify before another jury panel.

Manning told Judge Anthony Trenga she would "rather starve to death" than go before the jury - a statement that got her an increasing daily fine of $1,000 for every day she is behind bars.

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Her lawyers lodged a motion demanding her release in February and declared that Manning would never change her mind.

Many have heralded the former army analyst as a whistleblower who exposed possible war crimes in leaking hundreds of documents.

The former US army intelligence analyst tried to take her own life Credit: Reuters

Chelsea Manning releases first post-prison photograph back in 2017 Credit: Rex Features

Phone footage shows Wikileaks founder Julian Assange behind bars at Belmarsh prison

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