Inter­na­tio­nal Support of Conscien­tious Objec­tors and Deserters

USA: Attorney reports human rights abuses of GI resisters

(13.10.2009) Attorneys and veteran’s groups are alarmed by recent reports that two US Army soldiers imprisoned at the Fort Lewis Regional Correctional Facility (RCF) have been subjected to human rights abuses and violations of their constitutional rights. The civilian defense attorney of two soldiers, James M. Branum, told Truthout that both soldiers have been strip-searched while possibly being filmed. Bishop and Church have also been watched by female guards during strip-searches, while using the restroom as well as while in the showers. Both soldiers have been denied one in-person visit by their attorneys and all phone calls with their attorneys have been illegally monitored by guards.

Lithuania: conscription suspended

(06.10.2009) On 1 July 2009, the last conscripts left the Armed Forces of Lithuania. This completes the transition of the Lithuanian Armed Forces to a volunteer force. While conscription has now been suspended, Lithuania still does not recognise the right to conscientious objection for professional soldiers.

"I implore you, Sir, to bring our soldiers home"

Letter of Joe Glenton to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Dear Mr Brown, I am writing to you as a serving soldier in the British Army to express my views and concerns on the current conflict in Afghanistan. It is my primary concern that the courage and tenacity of my fellow soldiers has become a tool of American foreign policy. I believe this unethical short-changing of such proud men and women has caused immeasurable suffering not only to families of British service personnel who have been killed and injured, but also to the noble people of Afghanistan.

U.S. Soldier in Germany Question′s Obama′s Commitment to Peace

(04.06.2009) Berlin, June 4, 2009. What will President Barack Obama tell the wounded U.S. soldiers when he visits them in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany on June 5th? André Shepherd, 32, a U.S. soldier seeking asylum in Germany knows what he hopes Obama will tell them: "If Obama is serious about being the peace president, he will tell the soldiers that he will end the ’overseas contingency operations,’ including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and do so immediately."