MOSCOW, November 14 (Sputnik) — In the supporting paper, Manning’s lawyers asked Obama to give her a second chance, adding that her mental and emotional state significantly deteriorated due to "torturous conditions" and resulted in two attempted suicides.
"I am not asking for a pardon of my conviction… I understand that the various collateral consequences of the court-martial conviction will stay on my record forever. The sole relief I am asking for is to be released from military prison after serving six years of confinement as a person who did not intend to harm the interests of the United States or harm any service members," the petition, provided by Manning's lawyer to The New York Times, read.
On November 11, WikiLeaks urged the outgoing US President Barack Obama not to miss "political moment" to pardon former US Army private Manning and whistleblower Edward Snowden before Donald Trump takes office.
The US authorities sentenced Manning in 2013 for violating the Espionage Act by sending some 700,000 classified military documents to WikiLeaks. She is serving the 35-years sentence at the Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas.
On September 3, 2013, Manning's lawyer applied for a presidential pardon for his client, claiming he did not seek to harm the US national interests.
In April 2014, the Kansas District Court approved a petition from Manning for a legal name change.
In February 2015, it was reported that Manning became the first US army soldier to receive hormone replacement therapy.
