Soldier Faces Court Martial

[central scrutinizer]

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/11/28/c1.cr.swift.1128.p1.php?section=cityregion

A Fort Lewis soldier who went AWOL to avoid a second tour of duty in Iraq and charged that she was sexually harassed by supervisors will be tried in January, after almost two months of pre-trial negotiations.

Eugene resident Suzanne Swift, a military police specialist, is scheduled for a special court-martial on Jan. 8, after negotiations that might have led to a lesser punishment or early release from the military broke down, according to Swift's mother and her lawyer.

snip

Swift has said she was sexually harassed by her platoon leader in Iraq, coerced into a sexual relationship by her squad leader during her first deployment, and that a third sergeant made sexually suggestive comments to her after she returned to the United States. She said she couldn't face the thought of further harassment and went AWOL instead.

snip

Swift's case, which has been widely reported in the national media, may become an international story as well. On Saturday, a team of broadcast journalists from Al Jazeera spent the day in Eugene with Rich and Swift. The Middle East TV channel based in Doha, Qatar, recently launched an international English-language version.