War objector with PTSD jailed and ‘extradited’ to Kuwait for secret trial

Donate to help defend Marc - 86 people have given $2,686 of the $3,600 spent on legal fees so far. Because the Army kidnapped Marc to Kuwait for trial, we will need to raise at least $10,000 to provide a civilian defense lawyer. Critical expert witnesses to could be another $5,000. And all of this has to happen within a few weeks.

After filing an official complaint over inadequate mental health services at Ft. Stewart, Georgia, Army Spc Marc Hall was jailed on December 12, 2009 on the pretext of an angry song about “Stop-loss” he produced in July 2009. The Army has recently shipped Spc Hall to Kuwait where he remains jailed awaiting a virtually secret trial.

By Army Spc Marc Hall. February 20, 1010

I never thought that I would join the Army only to one day be incarcerated by the Army. I have never been to jail in my life, until now. The Army is charging me with Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, “communicating threats” towards my chain of command. Yet I was only communicating how I felt about what I have experienced in the Army and how I felt about the Army’s “Stop-loss” policy. That policy meant that I could not leave the Army when I was supposed to, and after I had already served in Iraq for 14 months.

In short, we win! Alexis did not go to Afghanistan, will not go to jail, will not be separated from her baby Kamani, and will get out of the Army. To everyone who signed the petition or donated to her legal defense, thank you.

By Friends and Family of Alexis Hutchinson.
February 11, 2010

Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, the single-mother in the Army who missed deployment last year when her childcare plans fell through at the last minute was today granted an administrative discharge from the Army. Hutchinson and her civilian attorney, Rai Sue Sussman, are happy with the results. Spc. Hutchinson says that she is “excited to know what will happen to me, and that I am not facing jail. This means I can still be with my son, which is the most important thing.” (Photo:  James Dao, NY Times. 2/12/10)

Hundreds of letters from supporters credited. This successful appeal was funded by Courage to Resist and supporters like you. However, we're still $650 short on paying off Travis' legal fees. Please donate if you can.

February 10, 2010

FORT HOOD, Texas – Sergeant Travis Bishop received word this week that he was given a 3 month suspension of the 12 month sentence he got last year for refusing to deploy to Afghanistan based on his Christian religious beliefs against war. Sgt. Bishop has been imprisoned at the Fort Lewis, Washington stockade since August 16, 2009. Lt. General Robert Cone, commanding general of Fort Hood approved the sentence reduction on February 4th after considering Sgt. Bishop’s clemency application.

Donate to defend Marc - 86 people have given $2,686 of the $3,600 spent on legal fees so far.
Sign the petition | Leaflet | stoplossmusic.org

By Courage to Resist. February 27, 2010 Update

Army Spc Marc Hall, who had been jailed in Georgia county jails since December 12, 2009 for producing an angry hip-hop song about "stoploss" was placed on a military flight bound for Iraq last night. Marc flew out of Hunter Army Airfield, with a stop in Spain today, before arriving in Balad, Iraq. He is expected to be transported to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait for continued pre-trial confinement. The Army has made it clear that Marc will face a General Courts Martial that could result in years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. Eleven violations of Article 132 are now being cited going into the Article 32 (pre-trial) hearing. While we had all hoped to be able to stop this 'extradition', hopefully this underscores the seriousness of the situation and will serve to "jump start" our efforts. We have a lot of work to do if we are going to free Marc.

By Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist. February 1, 2009

Historian. WWII veteran. Author. Activist. GI resistance supporter.

I remember reading Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" in 1989. At the time, I was a 20-year-old Marine artillery controller becoming disillusioned with what I was seeing stationed in Okinawa, the Philippines, and Korea. Reading “People’s History” was certainly an unknowing step I took towards later refusing to fight in Iraq in August 1990. It enabled me to see my individual actions as a part of something much larger—yes, even larger than the Marine Corps.

By Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist for CommonDreams.org. February 9, 2010.
Donate | Petition | Leaflet | stoplossmusic.org

Any day now, Marc Hall -- a Fort Stewart soldier and Hip Hop artist -- will be whisked off to Iraq for a military Court Martial, out of reach of the public eye and his own civilian defense lawyers. His crime: writing an angry hip hop song about stop-loss.

President Obama has publicly pledged to phase out stop-loss, the practice of involuntarily extending soldiers' contracts. However, with two ongoing wars, the practice is still being used to fill the ranks, with 13,000 soldiers currently serving involuntary extensions of their contracts.

By Sarah Lazare, Courage to Resist for ZNet. January 24, 2010.

As Haiti asks the world for help turning around the destruction wrought by the January 12th earthquake, the U.S. is funding destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama is expected to ask for another $33 billion for the military budget this year, on top of the $1 trillion that has come out of U.S. taxpayers' pockets since 2001, to fund the so-called War on Terror.

In contrast, the president has pledged $100 million in aid to Haiti, amounting to not much more than the mortgage on a rich person's house.

By supporters of Joe Glenton. January 19, 2010

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, the UK soldier who faces desertion charges for refusing to return to Afghanistan, has been arrested and charged with five further offenses for speaking out in opposition to the presence of troops in Afghanistan. These charges allege that he led the anti-war demonstration in London, England on October 24, 2009, and that he has spoken to the press in defiance of orders. The new charges carry a maximum of ten years imprisonment in addition to the sentence of three to four years that Joe could get if the desertion charge is upheld.

By Dustin Stevens. January 15, 2010

First of all I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I have been free of the Army for almost three months now. I have to be honest, life is hard out here. But I'm slowly aiming for my goal of inner peace. I have changed a lot in this past year. More so than even I imagined. I want to say something to those of you who are reading that have not yet followed your heart and for those who are still in limbo. You have only one life to live on this planet. Life is too short to be unhappy. Fight for what you believe to be right.

Please donate to Eric's defense at couragetoresist.org/eric

Eric's story was featured on the front page of The New York Times. December 24, 2009

By Dahr Jamail, IPS News. December 11, 2009

MARFA, Texas - With a military health care system over-stretched by two ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, more soldiers are deciding to go absent without leave (AWOL) in order to find treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Eric Jasinski enlisted in the military in 2005, and deployed to Iraq in October 2006 as an intelligence analyst with the U.S. Army. He collected intelligence in order to put together strike packets - where air strikes would take place.

Successful clemency effort funded by Courage to Resist supporters.

By Courage to Resist. December 21, 2009

Iraq War resister Cliff Cornell was granted a 30 day reduction to his one year jail sentence this week. The Commanding General of Fort Stewart, Georgia knocked off the month in response to a clemency request filed by Cliff’s civilian attorney James Branum of Oklahoma. Cliff is now expected to be released on or about January 16, 2010.