Apologies for the temperamental blog format yesterday... some weird stuff happened

Free Camijo Meija:

Prisoner of Conscience - Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia CastilloOn 21 May 2004, a US military court sentenced Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia Castillo of the Florida National Guard to the maximum penalty of one year's imprisonment for desertion. He had refused to return to his unit in Iraq, citing moral reasons, the legality of the war and the conduct of US troops towards Iraqi civilians and prisoners. Amnesty International considers him to be a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned for his conscientious opposition to participating in war.

The sentence was imposed despite a pending decision by the army on his application for conscientious objector status. During the trial his lawyers were not permitted to present arguments relating to his conscientious objection, including describing the abuse he witnessed. He is currently detained in a military prison at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The sentence is under appeal, but the appeal process is expected to be lengthy.

Camilo Mejia was deployed to Iraq in April 2003. He began developing doubts about the morality and legality of the war. In October 2003 he returned home for two weeks leave. He failed to return to duty in Iraq and filed for discharge as a conscientious objector on 16 March 2004 stating that he believed the war and occupation of Iraq to be “illegal and immoral”.

In his conscientious objector application, Camilo Mejia described the conditions of detention and treatment of Iraqi prisoners, including instances where soldiers were directed to “break the detainees’ resolve”, and who took actions which included banging on metal walls with sledgehammers to enforce sleep deprivation, and loading pistols near the ears of prisoners. He also described witnessing the killing of civilians, including children.

Camilo Mejia has described the evolution of his beliefs, what he witnessed and did in Iraq, all of which compelled him to take a stand on the basis of conscience. His objections to such abuse were made before the publication of photographs of US agents physically and mentally torturing and abusing Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, but his trial came at a time of heightened media attention on this issue. A member of his defense team, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, spoke of the “incredible irony that we’re prosecuting soldiers in Iraq for violations of international law and we’re prosecuting a soldier here because he refused to do the same things”.

Amnesty International has adopted Camilo Mejia as a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release. He is the first soldier known to be tried for “desertion” after service in combat in the current Iraq conflict. Amnesty International believes he has been imprisoned for his conscientious objection to the war in Iraq despite having taken reasonable steps to secure his discharge from the army.

Prior to his conviction, Camilo Mejia said “I have no regrets, not one… I will take it because I go there with my honor, knowing I have done the right thing”.

What YOU Can Do To Support the Free Camilo Campaign
http://www.freecamilo.org/support.htm

Also Check: http://www.freecamilo.org/

and

Military Families Speak Out http://www.mfso.org/






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