Conscientious objector being held in Germany

[marmar]

Conscientious Objector, Agustin Aguayo, imprisoned in Germany
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2006-10-12 15:34. Activism
Aguayo is currently being held in Mannheim prison in Germany for
following his conscience

"I have come to believe that it is wrong to destroy life, that it is wrong to use war, that it is immoral, and I can no longer go down this path. Because I have taken this stand, I am free even though my body will probably be locked up for a period of time and it's something I can live with. Something I can't live with is being a participant of war anymore." -Agustin Aguayo

Agustin Aguayo arrived in Germany on Tuesday October 3, 2006 hand-cuffed and escorted by several soldiers as he made his way through Frankfurt International Airport. Aguayo was sent back to Germany on a commercial flight less than a week after turning himself in to military custody at Ft. Irwin just outside of Barstow, CA in the Mojave Desert.

Agustin Aguayo applied for conscientious objector status in February 2004 after serving in the military for just over a year."At the moment I signed up, I was ready and willing to do anything that was asked of me," Aguayo said. "However, over time, we as humans change. While Aguayo's conscientious objector claim was being processed he was sent to Iraq as a medic, but refused to load his weapon. He has continued to fight for his discharge ever since, even taking his fight to the federal court system after his claim was mishandled and rejected by the military.

Narrowly escaping a forced deployment to Iraq through a bedroom window at his base apartment at the Schweinfurt, Germany U.S. Army base, Agustin Aguayo went AWOL on September 2nd after his unit was ordered to deploy to Iraq for a second time. Standing in front of Mission Los Angeles, on September 26th, Agustin told supporters and the media about his decision to go AWOL and his plans to turn himself in to Ft. Irwin Army base, later that day, to continue his fight for a conscientious objector discharge. Photos and report...

On the scene at Frankfurt International Airport, Stars and Stripes reported, "Aguayo was taken from the Frankfurt airport to the U.S. Army Confinement Facility-Europe in Mannheim, Germany, where he will be in pretrial confinement while Army officials review the evidence to determine the status of his case, according to 1st Armored Division spokesman Maj. Wayne Marotto."

Agustin Aguayo is imprisoned for following his conscience and he and his family desperately need your financial support as they continue to fight for his discharge. Please donate today!

For additional information about Agustin's case visit: www.AguayoDefense.org

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/14597

[Hav]

1. .

When someone is just unwilling to fight that stupid war in Iraq, why don't they just let him leave? It makes no sense to have someone like him in that mess if he simply doesn't want it. It might be dangerous for other people there as well.