Camilo Mejía has described how what he witnessed and did in Iraq compelled him to take a stand on the basis of conscience. His objections to the abuse of Iraqi detainees were made before the publication of photographs of U.S. agents abusing detainees in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, but his trial came at a time of heightened media attention on this issue. A member of his defense team, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, spoke of the "incredible irony that we're prosecuting soldiers in Iraq for violations of international law, and we're prosecuting a soldier here because he refused to do the same things."

Amnesty International considers Camilo Mejía to be a prisoner of conscience. He is held in a military prison at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Please send cards of support to:

Camilo E. Mejía
1490 Randolph Road
Fort Sill, OK 73503