Courtesy U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning, serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, ended her hunger strike on Tuesday after the Army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union said. This is all that I wanted – for them to let me be me.”

The army private formerly known as Bradley Manning revealed after being convicted of espionage that she identified as a woman. It ended on Tuesday when she received word that the military will provide treatment for her gender dysphoria, beginning with surgery recommended by her psychologist, according to the ACLU, which is representing Manning. A transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for leaking classified information to WikiLeaks says she is ending a hunger strike because the Army has agreed to allow her to get medical treatment for her gender dysphoria. • Teen transgender Kim Kardashian lookalike who was born a boy returned to school after holidays as a girl

In a statement, Manning said: "I am unendingly relieved that the military is finally doing the right thing. I applaud them for that,” said Mannig, who attended Tasker Milward school in Pembrokeshire for four years. This is all that I wanted -- for them to let me be me," Manning said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued the Pentagon in 2014 over Manning's medical treatment. In July, Manning tried to take her own life over what her representatives said was the government's denial of appropriate treatment for her gender dysphoria, a condition in which a person feels their physical gender is the opposite of the one he or she identifies with. "It is nonetheless troubling that the government continues to insist that they will enforce the male hair-length standards against her and subject her to a disciplinary board over administrative charges related to her suicide attempt in July, which was precipitated by the government's refusal to adequately treat her for gender dysphoria," Strangio said. In any case, I hope this sets a precedent for the thousands of trans people behind me hoping they will be given the treatment they need.”

Manning, who was arrested in 2010 as Bradley Manning, was convicted in 2013 in military court of leaking more than 700,000 secret military and State Department documents to WikiLeaks.
Imprisoned former American Army intelligence analyst and transgender person Chelsea Manning, who is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth, will have the military provide the costs of gender reassignment surgery. She was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly three-quarters of a million classified or unclassified but sensitive military and diplomatic documents.