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Ehren Watada
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A message to supporters from First Lt. Ehren Watada
February 24, 2007
Thank you for the skills, expertise, and tremendous sacrifice that you invested in the mobilization of support for my case and that of all war resisters. I ask you to please remain focused and committed until the Army realizes it has indeed lost this fight. Make no mistake, the Army can choose to lose small by immediately granting my resignation; or they can lose big when they are forced to drop all charges due to double jeopardy, promote me to Captain, and grant me an honorable discharge anyway. Even in the off-chance that they succeed in re-trying me, public opposition to this war (including the military) grows daily, congressional investigations bring more information to light, and we will have five more months to add to the groundwork that has already been laid. |
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This 31 min. video highlights the efforts of Courage to Resist, the Tacoma Puppetistas, and many others in support of Lt. Ehren Watada during the week of February 5, 2007 at Fort Lewis, Washington. Video by Courage to Resist activist Ozoloff. |
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 Lt. Watada and mother Carolyn Ho Action Alert: Demand Army drop all changes and accept Lt. Watada's resignation now! March 13, 2007 update The military was hoping to court martial Lt Watada on February 5 and send him to prison as an example. Instead, the military judge forced a mistrial, partially out of fear of Lt Watada putting the war on trial. In the aftermath of the military judge orchestrating a mistrial, Lt. Watada's lawyer Eric Seitz explained "When it's not going well for you, you can't just call a mistrial and start over again." |
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 Recent Iraq War vets join all-day rally for Lt. Watada, Ft. Lewis WA. 2/5/07 Commentary by Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist. February 14, 2007
FORT LEWIS, WA – Last week in the Army court martial of First Lieutenant Ehren K. Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse to fight in Iraq, military judge Lieutenant Colonel John Head orchestrated a legal mulligan. The prosecution had just rested a poorly argued case before the jurors. This “do over” proclamation appeared to offer the government a chance to get their act together and try again in the spring. However, given the likelihood that the entire case against Lt. Watada will eventually be dismissed due to the constitutional protection against double jeopardy, the question is why?
Also from Courage to Resist:
Lt. Watada mistrial clear victory, “very likely” unqualified (Feb. 8)
1,000 rally for Lt. Watada at Ft. Lewis during court martial (Feb. 6)
Stand with Lt. Ehren Watada - court martial underway (Feb. 5)
Army drops activist subpoenas for Lt. Watada trial (Jan. 31)
Lt. Watada prosecutors surrender on journalist subpoenas (Jan. 28)
Judge rules “illegal war” debate forbidden during court martial (Jan. 16) |
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 Courtroom sketch by K. Rudin / Truthout In depth report and analysis by Courage to Resist
FORT LEWIS, WA (February 8, 2007) – In a complex and confusing turn of events yesterday, Army lead prosecutor Captain Scott Van Sweringen reluctantly requested, and was granted a mistrial in the case of First Lieutenant Ehren K. Watada, the first military officer to publicly refuse to fight in Iraq.
In summation, the day after the prosecution rested a poorly presented case against Lt. Watada for “missing movement” to Iraq and two counts of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman,” the prosecution then requested—over the strenuous objections of Lt. Watada’s defense team—in essence a “do over.” Lieutenant Colonel Judge John Head then agreed to the “do over.” The basis for which, and the judge’s motives, may likely be a matter of debate for some time.
Lt. Watada's civilian lawyer Eric Seitz later explained, “The mistrial is very likely to have the consequence of ending this case because a retrial would be a case of double jeopardy based on the military rules for courts martial and applicable case law.” Should the Army proceed with a second trial, Seitz said he would seek dismissal of the charges with prejudice so they could not be again filed. “I do not expect a retrial to ever occur,” stated Seitz. Army Captain Mark Kim, Lt. Watada’s appointed military defense lawyer, noted that he agreed with Seitz’s conclusions. |
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 Subpoenaed activist Phan Nguyen Courage to Resist. January 31, 2007
After surrendering earlier this week on subpoenas intended to force
journalists to testify against Lt. Ehren Watada for his critical
statements of President Bush and the Iraq War, the Army today dismissed
subpoenas targeting three anti-war activists as well.
In December Olympia, Washington anti-war activist Phan Nguyen, and
Veterans for Peace (VFP) Seattle Chapter organizers Tom Brookhart and
Gerri Haynes were placed under order by the U.S. Army to appear for the
prosecution in the case of U.S. v. Watada.
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 Lt. Watada on Fort Lewis during pre-trial hearing. 1/4/07 Charges for speaking to the press dropped
Courage to Resist. January 29, 2007
Army prosecutors of Lieutenant Ehren Watada, the first military officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq, surrendered today on two charges of “conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.”
These two charges—each of which carried a one year possible prison sentence—were based on interviews Lt. Watada held with independent journalist Sarah Olson and Greg Kakesako of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. In dropping these charges, and dismissing the subpoenas of these journalists, the Army likely realized that it had little to gain from a building showdown with the media.
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February 2, 2007
USA: War objector’s freedom of conscience must be respected
Pending the trial on Monday 5 February of Ehren Watada over his
refusal to participate in the Iraq war, Amnesty International stated
that a guilty verdict would be a violation of internationally
recognized rights to conscientious objection.
“If found guilty, Amnesty International would consider Ehren Watada to
be a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and
unconditional release”, said Susan Lee, Amnesty International’s
Americas Programme Director.
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