Kuwait jail for seeking PTSD help
US Army Specialist Marc A. Hall sits in a military brig at Camp
Arifjan, Kuwait, facing an imminent court martial in retaliation for seeking mental health assistance. Pre-trial hearing officer declares Army can move forward with 6 of 11 charges.
Travis Bishop released from the brig!
Celebration by Travis and local supporters to be held at Coffee Strong
(outside of Ft. Lewis) Sunday, March 28 at 3pm. Travis recently had three months knocked off his sentence.
UK Soldier jailed for objection
Joe Glenton, the first British soldier to serve in Afghanistan and
publicly speak out against the war, was
sentenced to nine months in
military jail
April newsletter now available
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Army retaliates and jails Marc Hall in Kuwait for seeking PTSD help
Courage to Resist. March 25, 2010
US Army Specialist Marc A. Hall sits in a military brig at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, facing an imminent court martial for challenging the US
military’s Stop-Loss policy in a song — his pre-trial hearing was held
last week on March 17. Yet it was not the hip-hop song he wrote
criticizing the Stop-Loss policy that landed him in trouble. What put
the 34-year-old New York City native in the brig were his persistent
assertions of inadequate mental health care that culminated in a Dec. 7
complaint to the Army Investigator General. Just five days later Hall
was charged with violating “good order and discipline” at Fort Stewart,
Georgia, and was shipped out of the country.
Hall’s court martial is likely to occur late April or early May.
The
jailing occurred a full five months after Hall wrote a rap song
protesting the Stop-Loss order that halted his discharge after he
served
his country for 14 months of combat in Iraq. Hall was charged
with 11
counts of “communicating threats” related to the song and has
since been
charged with violating Article 134 of the Uniform Code of
Military
Conduct. All the alleged violations occurred between last July
and
December, yet not one warranted warning, counseling, or
non-judicial
punishment at the time.
On Feb. 20 Hall wrote, “A charge that was
not a threat before, but
all of a sudden became a threat now. I
communicated a need for mental
evaluation—not a threat.”
Read more...
Travis Bishop released from Ft. Lewis brig!
Celebration by local supporters to be held at Coffee Strong
(outside of Ft. Lewis) Sunday, March 28 at 3pm.
March 25, 2010
Afghanistan war resister Sgt. Travis Bishop was released from the brig at
Fort Lewis today. Travis originally was sentenced to 12 months in prison
in a court-martial at Fort Hood, Texas for refusing to deploy to
Afghanistan for reasons of conscience. He later received a 3 month
reduction in sentence due to a successful clemency application to the
Commanding General at Fort Hood, as well as receiving extra time off for
good behavior. He served a total of 7 months and 12 days of
confinement, as well as a reduction of rank from Sergeant to Private and
a pending Bad Conduct Discharge.
While in the brig, Travis Bishop was recognized by Amnesty
International as a prisoner of conscience and wrote a blog from jail.
He
also received support from hundreds of people from around the
world who
wrote both letters of encouragement to him but also to
military
authorities calling for his release. Bishop also spoke out
about the bad
conditions at the Fort Lewis brig, which resulted in some
reforms at
the facility as well as Travis being placed on the
facility's "most
difficult" prisoners list.
Read more...
UK Soldier jailed for Afghanistan objection
Courage to Resist. March 25, 2010
Joe Glenton, the first British soldier to serve in Afghanistan and
publicly speak out against the war, was
sentenced to nine months in military jail on March 7th for being absent without leave. Joe believes
the war has “further antagonized the Muslim population of the world... and the conflict has become a part of the problem not a part of the
solution.” He will spend just over
five months in jail due to “previous
good character”.“He saw a war that defied everything that he was taught.
They sentenced him to teach him a lesson about speaking out, [and] to
discourage
other soldiers from doing the same,” explained his lawyer after the sentencing. Joe’s mom Sue Glenton agreed and added, “The judge
is making an example of
Joe.
This is a political decision.”
April 2010 newsletter now available
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