An Army appeals court has ruled that the military may not refer to Private Bradley Manning as a man.
Col. Lorianne M. Campanella, Col. Eric Krauss, and Col. R. Tideman Penland in the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that "future formal papers filed before this court and all future orders and decisions issued by this court shall either be neutral, e.g., Private First Class Manning or appellant, or employ a feminine pronoun."
Manning, who was convicted for espionage and is serving 35 years at Fort Leavenworth, announced in 2013 that he identifies as a woman, and wants to be known as Chelsea Manning. Manning passed 251,287 classified State Department cables to Wikileaks via a fake Lady Gaga cd.
Last month the military approved hormone therapy for Manning to transition to a woman.
The website "Free Chelsea Manning," which has posted birthday cards to Manning, shared a statement from Manning’s lead lawyer Nancy Hollander.
"This is an important victory for Chelsea, who has been mistreated by the government for years," she said. "Though only a small step in a long legal fight, my co-counsel, Vincent Ward, Captain Dave Hammond, and I are thrilled that Chelsea will be respected as the woman she is in all legal filings."