Agustin Aguayo
Encyclopedia
Agustin Aguayo is a veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...

 of the Iraq War and was convicted of desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...

 by a court martial March 6, 2007. He is an Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

 declared "Prisoner of Conscience".

Background

Agustin Aguayo enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 in 2003, the same year which Operation Iraqi Freedom started. Aguayo was trained by the Army as a combat infantryman. After his advanced individual training he was stationed in Germany, and was soon deployed to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.

Imprisonment

Agustin Aguayo was notified his unit would be returned to Iraq and instead missed his unit's movement to that theater of operations. When military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...

 came to his family home in September, 2006, he climbed out of the bathroom window, going AWOL in Germany for 24 days. He was later apprehended and imprisoned for seven months while awaiting court-martial on charges of Missed Movement and Desertion
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...

. His conviction occurred March 6, 2007. He was released from prison in April 2007 and given a bad conduct discharge.

See also

  • Stephen Funk
    Stephen Funk
    Stephen Funk is a former United States Marine Corps Landing Support Specialist and lance corporal reservist. He is also the first person to refuse to deploy in Iraq.-Background:...

  • List of Iraq War Resisters
  • Conscientious Objector
    Conscientious objector
    A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....

  • Nuremberg Principles
    Nuremberg Principles
    The Nuremberg principles were a set of guidelines for determining what constitutes a war crime. The document was created by the International Law Commission of the United Nations to codify the legal principles underlying the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi party members following World War II.- Principle...

    (Principle IV)

External links

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