Camilo Mejia

The trial of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia began yesterday in Fort Stewart Georgia. Mejia served three years in the Army and almost five in Florida's National Guard when he was deployed to Iraq in April 2003. He spent six months in Iraq, and then returned to the U.S. on what was supposed to be a two-week furlough in October 2003. But he did not report back to the military until March 2004, when he announced that he would file a conscientious objector application. During that time, he tried to obtain a discharge based on the fact that he is not a U.S. citizen — he's a permanent resident with a green card and Nicaraguan citizenship — and the Army limits non-U.S. citizens' service to eight years. He learned, however, that that time limit has been suspended during the war on Iraq.

His reasons for not wanting to return to the Iraq quagmire were moral and legal, he claims. He witnessed — and sometimes even caused — many deaths, including deaths of children, political protesters, and other civilians. He saw the brutalizing effects the war had on his fellow soldiers. Mejia's objector application claims he saw Iraqi prisoners treated "with great cruelty" when he was put in charge of processing detainees last May at al-Assad, an Iraqi air base occupied by U.S. forces. Ordered to keep prisoners awake for up to 48 hours, soldiers would sometimes bang on walls with a sledgehammer or would "load a 9 mm pistol next to their ear."
Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney general under LBJ and one of Mejia's lawyers, said Mejia was protected by international law to avoid duties that would have constituted war crimes. Mejia faces a year in prison and a bad-conduct discharge if convicted of desertion.

In his own words:
"When you look at the war, and you look at the reasons that took us to war, and you don't find that any of the things that we were told that we're going to war for turned out to be true, when you don't find there are weapons of mass destruction, and when you don't find that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, and you see that you're not helping the people and the people don't want you there, to me, there's no military contract and no military duty that's going to justify being a part of that war."

And this is an excerpt of a letter his mother addressed to the activist community
Please come to Ft. Stewart, GA from May 19-21 to support the trial of my son, Camilo Mejia Castillo
Dear Friends,
I want to thank the thousands of people who have expressed their support for my son's decision not to return to the war in Iraq (...). He served in Iraq from March to October 2003. He returned to the U.S. for a two-week leave in October and decided he could not, in good conscience, return to the "illegal and immoral war in Iraq." He went AWOL and then on March 15, reported back to the military authorities and applied for conscientious objector status. On March 25, the Army charged him with desertion and placed him in military custody at Ft. Stewart, Georgia.(...) On behalf of my family, I am asking the organizations and individuals who support my son's case to join us at this historic trial. (...)We plan to hold vigils in the evenings, starting the evening of May 18.(...)Camilo is the first Iraq War veteran to publicly refuse further military service. We will have many expert witnesses testifying on behalf of our argument that his orders to deploy were illegal under US and international law. The most recent US polls show that the majority of the public are now starting to oppose this war. Camilo's trial can contribute significantly to the growing momentum to end the occupation and bring the troops home. This is why it is so important to show strong public support for his courageous stand. Together we can say NO to this immoral war, and YES to granting Camilo conscientious objector status. Together we can say bring our soldiers home, and return sovereignty to the Iraqis. Thank you so much for your support. If you have questions or plan to join us, please contact me at SolaBay@aol.com .
In peace,
Maritza Castillo


In a separate letter she writes
I've also learned that army officials have restricted Camilo to Ft. Stewart and have barred him from conducting face to face interviews on the base with the media. Louis Font, his civilian attorney, plans to challenge this "gag" order, arguing that my son's rights to free speech are being abridged. (...) I'm addressing the people of the United States of America, the Hispanic Community and the world to express my deepest sorrow and indignation about the injustice that is being made against my son. I want to ask you to continue giving him your support. Please write letters to Camilo expressing your support towards his cause. Send letters to the Army Officials and to the Congress of the United States demanding that his conscientious objection application be accepted.

Camilo's Address:
Ssg. Mejia Camilo
A Company USAG MED-HOLD 865
Hase Road,
Ft. Stewart, GA 31315

Commanding General, Fort Stewart's Address:
Major General William G. Webster, Jr.
Commanding General, Fort Stewart,
42 Wayne Place,
Ft Stewart GA 31314

Also, visit the American Friends Service Committee for other ways to show your support.