Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

Algeria: Conscientious objector Soufiane Ababou feared recruited / fear for his safety

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(01.02.2011) War Resisters’ International received information that Algerian conscientious objector Soufiane Ababou Soufiane Ababou is feared to have been recruited by force yesterday, and there are serious fears for his health. Soufiane Ababou, a youth from the Algerian town of Lamtar who turns 26 next month, is refusing military service since 2005. He refuses military service based on his pacifist convictions. On 13 January 2011, Soufiane Ababou received a summons from the prosecutor at the military court of Oran for a hearing on 30 January 2011. This was confirmed by a notice from the gendarmerie from 27 January 2011, which also stated the reason: draft evasion.

Colombia: Conscientious objector Juan Diego Agudelo recruited by force

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(26.10.2010) War Resisters’ International has been informed by its Colombian affiliate Red Juvenil de Medellin about the recruitment by force of conscientious objector Juan Diego Agudelo. Juan Diego Agudelo is a young campesino in the municipality of Andes, a few hours southwest of Medellin. He works on a farm to help support his parents and two little sisters; his father’s income as a day-laborer is not enough to feed the whole family. On 5 September 2010,Juan Diego Agudelo was grocery-shopping for his family in town when soldiers came up to him and asked for his papers. When he told them he did not have his military service booklet, he was pushed into a truck and taken to the 11th battalion of the 4th Brigade. They took away his identification and have still not returned it to him.

Myanmar: Boy, 15, Killed by Troops after Resisting Enlistment

(31.05.2010) Burmese army soldiers (Mynmar - the ed.) killed a 15-year-old boy who refused to be enlisted, according to a leading labor activist. Aye Myint, of the “Guiding Star” labor rights group, told exile media on Monday that troops of Infantry Battalion No. 586, based in Pegu Division, captured two boys they found fishing at night in a paddy field. The two boys resisted demands to join the battalion. One, identified as Tin Min Naing, was shot and then killed with a pitchfork as he tried to flee. The soldiers released the second boy, Kyaw Win Aung, who was given refuge at a temple.

Russia: Activists in St. Petersburg Say Men Being Forced into Army

(22.12.2009) Rights activists in St. Petersburg say there have been numerous rights violations during the Russian Army’s recruitment process this year. A representative of the organization Soldiers’ Mothers of St. Petersburg told Radio Free Europe that they have received a large number of phone calls from people complaining that local military recruitment offices "are literally hunting for young men on the streets, in supermarkets, and the subway to forcibly enlist them into the army."