Chelsea Manning was released from prison in the early hours of Wednesday, after Barack Obama commuted the final 28 years of her 35-year sentence.

“First steps of freedom!” she tweeted, with a photo of her trainer-clad feet.

Released from Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas, Miss Manning’s lawyers said she was looking forward to exploring life as a woman and growing her hair – something she was not permitted to do behind bars, having entered prison as Bradley Manning.

Miss Manning, 29, was arrested in May 2010, while serving in Iraq, after she confessed to a computer hacker, Adrian Lamo, that she was the source of Wikileaks’ documents. Wikileaks published hundreds of thousands of documents that Miss Manning had downloaded from military computers – among them the Iraq and Afghan war logs, diplomatic cables and Guantanamo Bay files.

She was sentenced in August 2013.

“It is incredible to witness Chelsea Manning's freedom after having seen and worked with her behind bars for four years,” said Chase Strangio, one of Miss Manning’s lawyers.

“Through extended periods of solitary confinement and up against the government's insistence on denying her medical care and existence as a woman, Chelsea has emerged with grace, resilience, and an inspiring amount of love for others.”