Sarah Olson

Ehren Watada Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada saw his case move one step closer to resolution earlier this month when a federal court issued a preliminary injunction against a second court martial. The Army's prosecution of the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq has been in legal limbo since a February court martial ended abruptly , when the military judge threw out a stipulation agreement and declared a mistrial . In June 2006, Lt. Watada held a press conference where he declared that the Iraq War was illegal, and that it was his duty to refuse orders to deploy. Lt. Watada ... Read Full Story

His sentence commuted, Scooter Libby is hanging out at home. Various Blackwater contractors were given immunity from prosecution after possibly shooting Iraqi civilians without provocation. In the meantime, the court martial saga of Ehren Watada , the army lieutenant who refused to go to Iraq, continues. In February, 2007 Watada’s court martial was declared a mistrial after considerable confusion around a stipulation that Watada had indeed refused to ship out to Iraq and had in fact spoken out against the war. The army tried to limit its case to that and was trying to keep out any testimony about Watada’s position that the war ... Read Full Story

Linked from http://www.progressive.org/node/4482 Good news for the supporters of Sarah Olson and Ehren Watada...here's what Olson had to say... ----- “This is obviously a great victory for the principles of a free press that are so essential to this nation,” Olson said in a statement. “Personally, I am pleased that the Army no longer seeks my participation in their prosecution of Lt. Watada. Far more importantly, this should be seen as a victory for the rights of journalists in the U.S. to gather and disseminate news free from government intervention, and for the rights of individuals to express personal, political opinions to journalists without ... Read Full Story

Add the National Press Club to a growing list of journalists fighting back again military harassment of the press. In a news release, "The National Press Club today announced its opposition to the U.S. Army's subpoenas of Oakland, CA, freelance journalist Sarah Olson and Honolulu Star Bulletin reporter Gregg Kakesako. The subpoenas call for the reporters to testify at the Feb. 5 court martial of Army Lt. Ehren Watada, who refused to deploy to Iraq and made several disparaging remarks about the conduct of the war. A petition calling for the dismissal of the subpoena has been posted at Defend The Press and a ... Read Full Story

"Although the military has dismissed the subpoenas of journalists, Veterans for Peace Seattle Chapter organizers Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes, and Olympia-based anti-war organizer Phan Nguyen remain under order to testify against Lt. Watada. Tom Brookhart and Gerri Haynes came to the attention of Army prosecutors for their role in organizing the VFP National Convention in August. Phan Nguyen, a member of the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, was the moderator of a number of press conferences and rallies this summer regarding Lt. Watada and the support his stand against illegal war has generated. With Lt. Ehren Watada now formally acknowledging the remaining ... Read Full Story