Klaus
Refugee
USA: Prisoner of conscience: Abdullah William Webster (m), sergeant
PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 51/137/2004
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511372004
i'd be happy if some of you would take action (also i know that some of you won't agree with ai's opinion):
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:
-urging that Abdullah William Webster be released immediately and unconditionally, with restoration of his benefits, pointing out that Amnesty International considers him to be prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for his conscientious objection to participating in war;
-explaining that Amnesty International considers that he took reasonable steps to secure his release from military obligations through legal means, including applying for conscientious objector status.
APPEALS TO:
Colonel William H. Haight III
1 ID Engineer Brigade
Unit 27562
APO, AE
09139
USA
Fax: +49 951 300 7685
Email: william.haight@us.army.mil
Salutation: Dear Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel Gerald P. O’Connor
HHC 82nd Engineer Battalion
Unit 27522
APO, AE
09139
USA
Fax: +49 951 300 8612
Email: gerald.oconnor@us.army.mil
Salutation: Dear Lieutenant Colonel
Major David K. Kennedy
Rear Detachment Commander
Unit 27562
APO, AE
09139
USA
Fax: +49 951 300 7685
Salutation: Dear Major
The Honorable Les Brownlee
Acting Secretary of the Army
102 Army Pentagon
Room 3E588
Washington DC 20310-0102
USA
Fax: +1 703 697 0720
Email: les.brownlee@us.army.mil
Salutation: Dear Secretary
COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of the United States of America accredited to your country.
PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 51/137/2004
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511372004
UA 267/04 Prisoner of conscience 17 September 2004
USA Abdullah William Webster (m), sergeant
On 3 June, Sergeant Abdullah William Webster was sentenced by US court-martial
to 14 months imprisonment for refusing to participate in the war in Iraq on the
basis of his religious beliefs. Amnesty International considers him to be a
prisoner of conscience, imprisoned for his conscientious objection to
participating in war.
Abdullah Webster is a US citizen who has served in the US army since 1985. He
had been based in Bamberg, Germany since 2001 from where he was requested to
deploy to Iraq between March and April 2003. In September 2003 he submitted a
conscientious objector application to secure his release from military
obligations in Iraq on the basis that his religion prohibited him from
participating in any aggressive war against, or in any oppression or injustice
to, Muslims or non-Muslims. He later withdrew this application after receiving
advice that it would not be successful.
Abdullah Webster then submitted an application to be reassigned to
non-combatant services. Despite this he was ordered to deploy to Iraq in
February 2004. Following his refusal on religious grounds he was charged with
failing to obey commands from his superior and missing his Brigade’s movements.
A further application for conscientious objector status was refused on the
grounds that his objection was not to war in general but to the Iraq war in
particular. According to US Army Regulations, requests for qualification as a
conscientious objector will not be favourably considered when such requests are
based on objection to a certain war. A second application is currently being
considered by the army.
At the court-martial hearing, Abdullah Webster was sentenced to 14 months
imprisonment, a bad conduct discharge, suspension of his salary and loss of
pension and other benefits. He had been due to retire from service in 2005. He
is currently held at the US base in Mannheim, Germany.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International considers a conscientious objector to be any person who,
for reasons of conscience or profound conviction, refuses to perform service in
the armed forces or any other direct or indirect participation in wars or armed
conflicts. This can include refusal to participate in a war because one
disagrees with its aims or the manner in which it was being waged, even if one
does not oppose taking part in all wars.
Furthermore Amnesty International considers a person to be a prisoner of
conscience when they are detained or imprisoned solely because they have been
denied or refused their right to register an objection or to perform a
genuinely civilian alternative service. They would also be prisoners of
conscience if they are imprisoned for leaving the armed forces without
authorization for reasons of conscience, if they have taken reasonable steps to
secure release from military obligations.
i'd be happy if some of you would take action (also i know that some of you won't agree with ai's opinion):
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:
-urging that Abdullah William Webster be released immediately and unconditionally, with restoration of his benefits, pointing out that Amnesty International considers him to be prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for his conscientious objection to participating in war;
-explaining that Amnesty International considers that he took reasonable steps to secure his release from military obligations through legal means, including applying for conscientious objector status.
APPEALS TO:
Colonel William H. Haight III
1 ID Engineer Brigade
Unit 27562
APO, AE
09139
USA
Fax: +49 951 300 7685
Email: william.haight@us.army.mil
Salutation: Dear Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel Gerald P. O’Connor
HHC 82nd Engineer Battalion
Unit 27522
APO, AE
09139
USA
Fax: +49 951 300 8612
Email: gerald.oconnor@us.army.mil
Salutation: Dear Lieutenant Colonel
Major David K. Kennedy
Rear Detachment Commander
Unit 27562
APO, AE
09139
USA
Fax: +49 951 300 7685
Salutation: Dear Major
The Honorable Les Brownlee
Acting Secretary of the Army
102 Army Pentagon
Room 3E588
Washington DC 20310-0102
USA
Fax: +1 703 697 0720
Email: les.brownlee@us.army.mil
Salutation: Dear Secretary
COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of the United States of America accredited to your country.