Lawyers confirm US whistleblower Chelsea Manning suicide attempt

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

Manning, who is transgender, is serving a 35-year sentence at an all-male military facility after she leaked over 700,000 secret files on Wikilieaks in 2013. Manning had been working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, and she was convicted under her previous name, Bradley, and shortly thereafter announced she would start living as a woman.

Manning was approved for hormone therapy last year, and she will remain a soldier in the US Army for the duration of her sentence.

Last week, the US military revealed that Manning had been admitted to hospital, but it did not disclose the reason for the admission. Lawyers have since accused the military of violating her privacy by revealing that she had been admitted to hospital.

A tweet was sent from Manning's account on Monday, reading: "I am okay. I'm glad to be alive. Thank you for all your love. I will get through this."

Tweets on the account are sometimes sent by Manning's representatives but they are usually dictated over the phone by the prisoner herself.