Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

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.

United Kingdom: Nine Months Sentence Confirmed on Appeal

Comprehensive Report about the Hearing

(02.05.2010) On 21 April about 30 women and men took part in a picket (called by the Stop the War Coalition) in front of the Royal Courts in London to support Joe Glenton who was appealing his nine-month sentence. Payday distributed a leaflet. Covering the event were: BBC Arabic & Persian services and Iranian TV which interviewed the demonstrators.

Court of Appeal confirms nine months sentence for Joe Glenton

British Afghanistan war refusenik still in prison

(23.04.2010) According to information forwarded by the British organisation Payday, the High Court in London refused the appeal lodged by British Afghanistan war refusenik Joe Glenton and confirmed the sentence of nine months for having gone AWOL. Connection e.V., Iraq Veterans Against the War Europe, DFG-VK Hesse and Payday see the sentence as a measure to prevent other soldiers from speaking out their opposition to the war in Afghanistan. Rudi Friedrich of the network for conscientious objectors Connection e.V. said today, „According to figures published by the British ministry of war, more than 17,000 British soldiers have gone AWOL since 2003. They have clearly voted with their feet: Against the highly controversial war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.“ Chris Capps, spokesman of IVAW Europe,

added: “They picked out Joe Glenton because he spoke out what so many soldiers are thinking. The politicians who instigated the war should be in the dock, not people who refuse it.“

Turkey: Conscientious objector Enver Aydemir sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment

(01.04.2010) War Resisters’ International learned today that Turkish conscientious objector Enver Aydemir has been sentenced to ten months imprisonment by an Eskişehir court on Tuesday, on charges of desertion. Given the time he had already spent in prison, he was then formally released, but is now being taken to the Bilecik 2nd Gendarmerie Private Education Unit, where he will be ordered again to complete his military service. If he refuses, he will again be arrested and transferred to Eskişehir military prison, to await a new trial on charges of disobeying orders - the begin of a vicious cycle.