Uncle Sam
05-22-2004, 10:08 AM
Yahoo! (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=718&e=10&u=/ap/20040522/ap_on_re_us/anti_war_soldier)
FORT STEWART, Ga. - A U.S. soldier was sentenced to a year in prison for deserting his unit in Iraq (news - web sites), a decision he says he doesn't regret making after seeing the horrors of an "oil-driven" war.
Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia received the maximum penalty for not returning to his Florida National Guard unit after a two-week furlough in October. He also received a bad conduct discharge.
When he surrendered, Mejia said he'd rather go to jail than return to Iraq. In a hearing Friday, Mejia repeated that he thinks the war in Iraq is unjust.
"I have no regrets. Not one," Mejia said before the jury of four officers and four enlisted soldiers met for 20 minutes, then handed down his sentence.
Mejia told jurors he was not afraid of going to prison. "I will take it because I will go there with my honor, knowing I have done the right thing," he said.
Mejia, 28, testified that he disobeyed orders to return to his unit because his war experiences made him decide to seek status as a conscientious objector. He turned himself in to the Army five months later.
He told jurors that one of the turning points for him was an ambush in Ramadi, where he said he saw four soldiers wounded and an Iraqi civilian decapitated by U.S. machine gun fire.
"So things change, perceptions change," Mejia said. "You lose perspective of the value of human life. It happens."
Mejia was led out of the courthouse by military police with his hands cuffed behind his back to a waiting patrol car. Some civilian supporters shouted words of encouragement, including "Bravo, Camilo!"
His commander in Iraq, Capt. Tad Warfel, said the verdict would send a message that "deserters are punished, regardless of what their arguments are or their excuses."
Military prosecutors argued Mejia abandoned his troops and didn't fulfill his duty.
"He enjoyed all the benefits of the military, just not the duty," Capt. A.J. Balbo, the lead prosecutor, said in his closing argument. "The defense says he accomplished all his missions. Except the most important one — showing up."
Mejia testified Thursday that he believed he should have been discharged under a National Guard regulation limiting service of non-U.S. citizens to eight years. Mejia, a citizen of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, served for nine years.
Defense lawyer Louis Font said in his closing argument that Mejia made "an honest mistake of fact."
"This case clearly is about what was in the accused's mind," Font said. "He had an honest and reasonable view that because he had become a conscientious objector, he would not be required to serve in Iraq anymore."
Mejia's application to be an objector is being considered separately.
In his objector application, he also claims he saw Iraqi prisoners treated cruelly when he was put in charge of processing detainees last May at al-Assad, an Iraqi air base occupied by U.S. forces.
He did not mention specific abuse claims during his comments to the jury Friday, but cautioned them that their decision, and the actions of American troops in Iraq, would be noticed across the world.
"I say that we're all on trial because the world is watching. They're looking at the decisions we make (such as) war crimes, abuse of prisoners," he said.
Mejia's father, Carlos Mejia Godoy, condemned Friday's verdict, saying his son was being retaliated against for having mentioned the abuse.
Mejia Godoy is Nicaragua's most prominent leftist singer and songwriter.
He wrote the line "Let's fight the Yankee, enemy of humanity" into the anthem for the Sandinista National Liberation Front, which ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1989.
The line had always proved controversial, and the Sandinista Party later dropped it from the anthem.
Interesting...
FORT STEWART, Ga. - A U.S. soldier was sentenced to a year in prison for deserting his unit in Iraq (news - web sites), a decision he says he doesn't regret making after seeing the horrors of an "oil-driven" war.
Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia received the maximum penalty for not returning to his Florida National Guard unit after a two-week furlough in October. He also received a bad conduct discharge.
When he surrendered, Mejia said he'd rather go to jail than return to Iraq. In a hearing Friday, Mejia repeated that he thinks the war in Iraq is unjust.
"I have no regrets. Not one," Mejia said before the jury of four officers and four enlisted soldiers met for 20 minutes, then handed down his sentence.
Mejia told jurors he was not afraid of going to prison. "I will take it because I will go there with my honor, knowing I have done the right thing," he said.
Mejia, 28, testified that he disobeyed orders to return to his unit because his war experiences made him decide to seek status as a conscientious objector. He turned himself in to the Army five months later.
He told jurors that one of the turning points for him was an ambush in Ramadi, where he said he saw four soldiers wounded and an Iraqi civilian decapitated by U.S. machine gun fire.
"So things change, perceptions change," Mejia said. "You lose perspective of the value of human life. It happens."
Mejia was led out of the courthouse by military police with his hands cuffed behind his back to a waiting patrol car. Some civilian supporters shouted words of encouragement, including "Bravo, Camilo!"
His commander in Iraq, Capt. Tad Warfel, said the verdict would send a message that "deserters are punished, regardless of what their arguments are or their excuses."
Military prosecutors argued Mejia abandoned his troops and didn't fulfill his duty.
"He enjoyed all the benefits of the military, just not the duty," Capt. A.J. Balbo, the lead prosecutor, said in his closing argument. "The defense says he accomplished all his missions. Except the most important one — showing up."
Mejia testified Thursday that he believed he should have been discharged under a National Guard regulation limiting service of non-U.S. citizens to eight years. Mejia, a citizen of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, served for nine years.
Defense lawyer Louis Font said in his closing argument that Mejia made "an honest mistake of fact."
"This case clearly is about what was in the accused's mind," Font said. "He had an honest and reasonable view that because he had become a conscientious objector, he would not be required to serve in Iraq anymore."
Mejia's application to be an objector is being considered separately.
In his objector application, he also claims he saw Iraqi prisoners treated cruelly when he was put in charge of processing detainees last May at al-Assad, an Iraqi air base occupied by U.S. forces.
He did not mention specific abuse claims during his comments to the jury Friday, but cautioned them that their decision, and the actions of American troops in Iraq, would be noticed across the world.
"I say that we're all on trial because the world is watching. They're looking at the decisions we make (such as) war crimes, abuse of prisoners," he said.
Mejia's father, Carlos Mejia Godoy, condemned Friday's verdict, saying his son was being retaliated against for having mentioned the abuse.
Mejia Godoy is Nicaragua's most prominent leftist singer and songwriter.
He wrote the line "Let's fight the Yankee, enemy of humanity" into the anthem for the Sandinista National Liberation Front, which ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1989.
The line had always proved controversial, and the Sandinista Party later dropped it from the anthem.
Interesting...