Free speech: Whistleblower Chelsea Manning who leaked reports to WikiLeaks tweets from prison

Agencies

Private Chelsea Manning serving a 35-year sentence for helping Edward Snowden has finally found modes to communicate to the outside world. She has been behind bars since 2013, after pleading guilty to leaking classified military reports to WikiLeaks.

With the support of FIrzGibbon Media, Manning will use handle @xychelsea, where she promises to tweet "as frequently as possible; daily to weekly."

"This is my new twitter account =P," Manning wrote in her inaugural tweet, while cheekily putting her current location as Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the location of the military prison where she's currently housed. However, without a smartphone or computer, Manning mapped out the difficulties of using Twitter from behind bars. "Tweeting from prison reqs a lot of effort and using a voice phone to dictate #90sproblems," Manning wrote, showcasing an already veteran approach to hashtags.

It will be difficult for her to respond easily and early , but she hopes her Twitter won't be "a one-way street/conversation." She also thanked journalists Glenn Greenwald and Alexa O'Brien, Amnesty International and the Save Manning campaign because they have "always stood by me."

Manning grew in to a known celebrity in few hours of taking space on social media. She thanked all for love and affection and urged her fans to be true to her in future.