Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning's prison suicide attempt confirmed

Imprisoned US Army whistleblower, Chelsea Manning, has tried to kill herself in prison, her lawyers have confirmed.

The US military last week announced that the 28-year-old had been hospitalised, and although they did not give more details than this, her lawyers claimed it was a breach of her privacy.

Ms Manning is currently serving a 35-year sentence at an all-male military facility after she was convicted in 2013 of leaking more than 700,000 secret files to Wikileaks.

Ms Manning worked for the US Army as an intelligence analyst.

Shortly after her conviction, transgender Ms Manning announced she would begin living as a woman and was last year approved to begin hormone therapy.

Tweets from Ms Manning's account are sometimes sent by her representatives, but are usually dictated by her to them over the telephone.

If you are in distress or need some support, the Samaritans are available 24 hours a day on 08457 90 90 90 or visit their website.http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you

For those in the Republic of Ireland, the number is 1850 60 90 90.