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FORT LEAVENWORTH, KS (ChurchMilitant.com) - A soldier in the U.S. Army, arrested for leaking classified files, is now receiving sex change surgery in jail.

On September 13, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that the Army has decided to allow Bradley Manning (who goes by Chelsea) to receive gender transition surgery. The Army's decision comes after Manning's hunger strike, which he began on September 9, demanding that he be allowed treatment in order to "transition" from male to female.

Manning has been demanding sex reassignment surgery since April, when his psychologist recommended it to him. On July 5, Manning attempted suicide, blaming the military for failing to give him the proper care.

He faces additional charges for the suicide attempt that could result in indefinite solitary confinement. The charges against him include "conduct which threatens," possessing prohibited property, and resisting the force cell move team.

ACLU staff attorney Chase Strangio commented,

This medical care is absolutely vital for Chelsea. ... It was the government's refusal to provide her with the necessary care that led her to attempt suicide earlier this year, and it was all the more troubling when she became subject to an investigation and possible punishment in connection with the suicide attempt. We hope that the government recognizes that charging Chelsea with the crime of being denied essential health care is outrageous and drops those charges.

According to the ACLU, No transgender inmate has ever before received gender affirming surgical treatment in prison.

Manning began to take hormone therapy in 2015, and his doctor recommended that he be allowed to follow "female hair-grooming standards." In spite of this recommendation, the government still intends to enforce male hair standards.

Manning was arrested in 2010 and was convicted in 2013 for leaking 700,000 documents, videos, cables and battlefield accounts to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks while working as a military intelligence analyst in Iraq. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Among the files Manning leaked was a gunsight video of a U.S. Apache helicopter firing on Iraqis in 2007, an attack that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff.

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