U.S. War Resister Aguayo to Be Released April 18th from U.S. Military Prison in Mannheim, Germany

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U.S. War Resister Agustín Aguayo to Be Released April 18th from U.S. Military Prison in Mannheim, Germany
Submitted by davidswanson on Tue, 2007-04-17 23:24. Nonviolent Resistance

American Voices Abroad (AVA) Military Project
U.S. citizens living overseas supporting U.S. military personnel stationed overseas

Berlin, April 17, 2007 An Army spokesperson confirmed late today that U.S.
soldier Agustín Aguayo, 35, will be released from the U.S. military
detention facility in Mannheim tomorrow, but will likely remain in Germany
for at least some days for processing at his "home base" in Schweinfurt.
Most of Aguayo's unit in the Army's 1st Infantry Division has been deployed
to Baghdad since September.

Aguayo, a 35-year-old Mexican-American combat medic and the father of two
preteen daughters, has been confined in Mannheim since October 3rd. He has
served an eight-month prison sentence (with some time off for good
behavior), following his conviction at a U.S. Army general court martial in
Germany on March 6, 2007, on charges of desertion and of "missing movement."
Per the March 6th decision, he is also to receive a bad conduct military
discharge.

According the military spokesperson, Aguayo has filed an appeal within the
military justice system of the conviction of desertion, and he will
challenge the bad conduct discharge. He will not be discharged from the Army
until his military appeal has been considered, which could take up to a
year. However, he may request extended leave which, if granted, would enable
him to join his family in California.

In a separate civil court proceeding, Aguayo filed papers in the U.S. Court
of Appeals in Washington, DC, earlier this month for a rehearing of his
civil appeal challenging the Army's refusal to grant him an honorable
discharge as a conscientious objector (CO).

Peace activists in Germany say they will request that the German government
continue to investigate the Aguayo case and other cases concerning U.S.
soldiers. On February 27, 2007, German and U.S. activists from thirteen
leading peace organizations and networks in Germany wrote to the Members of
the German Parliament and to German government authorities: "We know that
the Aguayo case is only one of many cases in which human rights are violated
in U.S. military bases on German soil."

At the request of the President of the German Parliament, the Aguayo case is
presently being considered by a Petition Commission in the German
Parliament. Members of the German Parliament belonging to several political
parties have told the peace activists that they are considering initiatives
to ensure that German human rights standards are upheld on U.S. military
bases in Germany.

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