Conscientious objection

The trial of 19-year-old Jehovah's Witness conscientious objector Jovidon Bobojonov for refusing compulsory military service on grounds of conscience may begin at Dushanbe Military Court in early March. One official of the Court told Forum 18 that the criminal case is close to completion.  If convicted, he faces between two and five years in prison. He has become "emotionally and physically exhausted" since he was seized in October 2019, Jehovah's Witnesses say.

Germany Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer suggested opening the debate on reintroducing military service for high school graduates. After doing a “listening tour” of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) branches, Annegret Kramp-karrembauer came out in favor of starting the discussion of reintroducing compulsory national service in Germany.

Shame on the enaction of the bill that degrades the significance of the first alternative military service for conscientious objectors.

Contrary to international humanitarian law, Russian continues conscripting men in Crimea to serve in the Russian armed forces. Human Rights Watch has reviewed dozens of judgments from Crimean courts on criminal draft evasion cases and identified 71 criminal draft evasion cases and 63 guilty verdicts between 2017 and 2019.

From November 1st to November 3rd, 2019 a group of activists from France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland gathered to discuss militarism in their political, social and everyday lives. Conscientious objection, among and in relation to other topics, was central to the discussions at this Antimilitarist Camp in Paris.

War Resisters' International has published a statement on a proposal to reintroduce conscription in Honduras.

1st December, Sunday, is Prisoners for Peace Day. For over sixty years on this day, we've been sharing stories and contacts details of conscientious objectors and activists for peace who have been imprisoned for their refusal to take up arms and resist war. Set aside time on this day to write to those imprisoned for their peace work.

David Veloso Codoceo, a Chilean soldier, 21, was detained at the end of October after refusing to follow a service order to move to Santiago after curfew . After 21 days of being detained, he got realesed.

This November in Bolivia, sixty-two soldiers performing their military service at the Military Police School Regiment N°1 Saavedra requested to be discharged, arguing that they didn't want to attack their parents and families protesting on the streets.

This year has been perhaps the most crucial year for conscientious objectors in Greece since the establishment of alternative civilian service in 1997-1998. After years of efforts, there was an opportunity for significant changes. Certain improvements in the legislative framework were achieved but the most important one, the reduction of the length of alternative civilian service was quickly annulled after the summer general elections by the new right-wing Greek government.

In Turkmenistan, appeals of two conscientious objectors against their one-year jail terms for refusing compulsory military service were rejected. Nine conscientious objectors are now jailed, six of them in 2019. The United Nations ruled that Turkmenistan violated the rights of three more conscientious objectors jailed in 2013.

Conscientious Objection Association (Turkey) member Furkan Çelik was indicted by the Office of Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor on charges of "alienating the public from military service." Furkan Çelik was accused in relation to the social media posts on CO Association's Twitter account.