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Michael Stipe has released a video in support of Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. army soldier who was jailed for giving classified information to WikiLeaks.
In the 30-second clip, which can be seen on the YouTube account of the Chelsea Manning Support Network, the former R.E.M. frontman — who now sports a beard that would make Santa Claus proud — says, “As an American patriot, it is my duty to stand with Chelsea Manning…. Instead of giving her the treatment that she needs, the government is now threatening her with indefinite solitary confinement. This is unjustifiable, it is unfair, and it needs to be stopped.” The singer then urges viewers to sign a petition for Manning at FreeChelsea.com.
Manning, who was formerly known as Bradley Manning, began a hunger strike last week to protest being her treatment. But on Tuesday, the ACLU announced that Manning had ended the hunger strike, after the military finally granted her request for gender transition surgery, Manning’s lawyer told the New York Daily News. Manning is serving a sentence of 21-to-35 years in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
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