Conscientious objector Blake Lemoine

en
Activist
Not sent after

Use this form to send the letter below to the relevant authority (President George W. Bush jr). You can add your own notes in a separate box after the standard text, if you wish. You must include a name, address, and email address; a copy will be sent to you with a cc to the WRI office (so we have a record of how many email letters have been sent out for this particular case).

Dear Mr President George W. Bush jr

I am very concerned about the treatment of conscientious objector Blake Lemoine, who has been sentenced to seven months imprisonment by a US military court in Darmstadt on 28 March 2005.
Lemoine has a conscientious objection to the US occupation of Iraq based on his religious beliefs. He applied for conscientious objector status earlier in 2005, but his application has never been decided upon. Instead, he was charged with disobeying orders after he started a hunger strike in protest against the US Army's non-decision of his CO application. He was then sentenced to seven months imprisonment on 28 March.
The United States recognises the human right to conscientious objection in principle, but in practice many conscientious objectors are denied to exercise their right, and are sentenced by military courts instead - just as has happened to Blake Lemoine. This in practice is a violation of their human right to conscientious objection.
I therefore urge you to recognise the right to conscientious objection also in practive, and to immediately release all imprisoned conscientious objectors. I urge you to respect human rights.