Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Kazakhstan to start defence training for all

(09.08.2012) Kazakhstan will introduce universal military training for all adult citizens, according to a government decree published Thursday. "The goal of universal military training of citizens is to attract the population to civil defence activities, prepare for necessary contingencies, and build up the armed forces in the period of martial law," the document said.

Turkey says working to address conscientious objection

(27.06.2012) Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has said his ministry is continuing to work on options for dealing with conscientious objectors. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the minister said their efforts are aimed at protecting the Turkish state from new fines to be imposed by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) due to Turkey’s policy of mandatory military service. In Turkey, military service is compulsory for all male citizens over the age of 20; however, if a man is enrolled in an institution of higher learning, he is allowed to delay his service until he completes his education.

Israel: IDF on ‘hunt’ for draft dodgers, deserters

(22.05.2012) According to Israeli military records, there are a 2,700 deserters and 1,780 draft dodgers in Israel. In the last week alone, the IDF has arrested 474 of them as part of its largest-ever operation to apprehend them. Who are these “deserters”and in whose interest is it to invest so much of the military’s resources to hunt them down?

Greece and Northern Cyprus: No more military courts for conscientious objectors

(12.12.2011) The European Bureau for Conscientious Objection welcomes the recent landmark decision on the case of the Turkish­Cypriot conscientious objector Murat Kanatlı. On December 8 the Military Court in Lefkosa (“northern” Nicosia, Cyprus) accepted the demand of Murat Kanatli to refer his case to the Constitutional Court on the basis of the freedom of thought and expression.

EBCO calls on the Military Court of Ioannina, Greece, to deem itself incompetent on the case of conscientious objector Gerasimos Koroneos in his trial tomorrow. For both Murat Kanatlı and Gerasimos Koroneos EBCO demands the immediate and unconditional end of their persecution.