Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Swede jailed for desertion despite end of conscription

(07.09.2010) A 20-year-old Swedish conscript has been convicted for desertion, even though compulsory military service ended in Sweden three months ago. The man, who hails from Halland in western Sweden, dropped out of his mandatory military service last winter after serving for just a few days, the Hallandsposten newspaper reports.

Nagorno Karabakh: Conscientious objector Armen Mirzoyan sentenced to one year imprisonment

Call for letters of protest

(08.07.2010) On 30 June 2010, conscientious objector Armen Mirzoyan was sentenced to one year imprisonment for "refusal to perform military duties", Forum 18 News reported on 1 July. He was sentenced at Hadrut District Court in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally unrecognised entity in the south Caucasus.

Canada: Federal Court of Appeal rules in favour of Iraq War resister Jeremy Hinzman and family

Immigration Minister must act as directed by Parliament and let US resisters stay in Canada

(06.07.2010) Toronto—This afternoon the Federal Court of Appeal issued its unanimous judgment that an immigration officer’s decision rejecting Jeremy Hinzman’s application for permanent residence in Canada was “significantly flawed” and “unreasonable.” The Federal Court of Appeal decided that the Federal Court erred in a June 2, 2009 ruling by dismissing the application by U.S. Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman for judicial review of a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) Officer’s humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds decision.

Turkey: Peaceful protesters convicted for ’Alienating the public from military service’

(21.06.2010) On 17 June 2010 human rights defender Halil Savda and three other activists were convicted under Article 318 of the Turkish Penal Code which criminalises ‘alienating the public from military service’. The case was opened against them following their attendance at a public demonstration on 6 January 2010 in support of conscientious objector and Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, Enver Aydemir, who had been in military detention since 24 December 2009 for refusing to perform military service.