Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Turkmenistan: Second 2019 conscientious objector jailing

(03.06.2019) Another conscientious objector to Turkmenistan’s compulsory military service has been jailed. A court in the south-eastern town of Bayramaly sentenced 23-year-old Muhammetali Saparmyradov to one year’s imprisonment in March. He has since joined 11 other jailed conscientious objectors in the labour camp in Seydi in eastern Turkmenistan. All are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Israeli army sentences conscientious objector to 30 days behind bars

(27.05.2019) An IDF disciplinary body sentenced Israeli conscientious objector Roman Levin to 30 days in military prison last week for his refusal to continue serving in the military. Upon completing his current sentence, he will have served a total of 80 days behind bars. Military conscription is mandatory for most Jewish Israelis.

Action: Stop the Slavery in Eritrea

Gallery to the action to the International Day of Conscientious Objection

(17.05.2019) Several dozen met on the occasion of the International Day of Conscientious Objection (May 15) in Bonn. They focussed on the situation in Eritrea, a country where women and men are conscripted indefinitely. The right of conscientious objection doesn’t exist in Eritrea. Some conscientious objectors have been detained for almost 25 years. The participants also submitted a petition to the European Commission Representation in Bonn. In it they called on the European Union to stop a project for road construction: “The aid subsidizes a dictatorial regime. Conscripts are meant to be used whose employment can only be described as slavery. There are no assurances on behalf of the Eritrean government to comply with human rights.” (...more)

Non-assistance to persons in danger

Failure of European institutions to protect conscientious objectors

(13.05.2019) On the occasion of the International Conscientious Objection Day on 15 May 2019, the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection (EBCO) red-flags the multiple discriminations that conscientious objectors to military service continue to undergo in Europe. In the run-up to the European elections, EBCO points moreover to the enduring omission of European institutions to take action against the violation of the human right to conscientious objection. “Non-assistance to persons in danger – this sums up the continued failure of major European institutions to support those who despite massive discrimination call upon the fundamental right of conscientious objection to military service”, EBCO’s President Friedhelm Schneider stated today.