[Peace] Take action: Amy is moving a court martial to Iraq / because of a song IVAW member wrote called "Stop Loss"

[Karen Medina]

Army moves Marc Hall's court martial to Iraq

The U.S. military plans to extradite stop-lossed Iraq veteran and IVAW
member, Marc Hall, to Iraq "within a few days" to face court martial
for allegedly threatening military officers in a protest rap song he
made.

Marc has been sitting in Liberty County jail near Fort Stewart, GA
since December 11, 2009 becuse he wrote a song called, "Stop Loss"
about the practice of involuntarily extending military members'
contract.

Marc's lawyer believes that moving him to Iraq will violate his due
process, isolating him from his legal support and making calling
witnesses on his behalf nearly impossible.

He is working hard to prevent Marc's extradition to Iraq, and your
calls right now can make a big difference.

Take action to support Marc by calling Ft. Stewart Public Affairs
Chief, Kevin Larson at 912-435-9879.  Tell him that 1) you are opposed
to holding Specialist Marc Hall's court martial in Iraq and 2) all
charges against Marc should be dropped.  If you are a veteran, mention
that during your call.

Thank you for helping Marc.  Your calls in the next few days are very important.
----
INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE:
-	Jason Hurd, IVAW Organizer, is in regular contact with Marc Hall.
jehurd at gmail.com , 1-678-896-3821
-	Brenda McElveen, Marc Hall's mother, 1-843-206-3439
-	Chantelle Bateman, IVAW Field Organizing Team.
chantellebateman at ivaw.org , 1-202-758-7818
-	David Gespass, Hall’s civilian attorney, 1-205-323-5966
-	Jeff Paterson, the founder and director of the soldier advocacy
group Courage to Resist, jp at jeffpaterson.net , 1-415-279-9697
-	LTC Eric Bloom, US Army Public Affairs, eric.bloom at mnd-b.army.mil

====

US military plans to extradite stop-lossed Iraq war vet to Iraq for
court martial over protest rap song

Fort Stewart, Ga.  – The US military plans to extradite a stop-lossed
Iraq war veteran to Iraq “within a few days” to face a court martial
for allegedly threatening military officers in a protest rap song he
made.

Spc. Marc Hall has been jailed in the Liberty County Jail near Fort
Stewart, Ga., since Dec. 11 because he wrote a song called “Stop Loss”
about the practice of involuntarily extending military members’
contracts.

"It is our belief that the Army would violate its own regulations by
deploying Marc and it would certainly violate his right to due process
by making it far more difficult to get witnesses. It appears the Army
doesn't believe it can get a conviction in a fair and public trial. We
will do whatever we can to insure he remain in the United States,"
said Hall’s civilian attorney, David Gespass.

Gespass claims the Army's attempts to deploy Hall violate Army
Regulations 600-8-105 and the Army's conscientious objector
regulations. Hall applied for a conscientious objector discharge
Monday. The military’s move would also separate Hall from both his
civilian legal team and military defender.

"The Army seeks to disappear Marc and the politically charged issues
involved here, including: the unfair stop-loss policy, the boundary of
free speech and art by soldiers, and the continuing Iraq occupation.
The actual charges are overblown if not frivolous, so I'm not
surprised the Army wants to avoid having a public trial," explained
Jeff Paterson, executive director of Courage to Resist.

An Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) member, Hall served 14 months
in Iraq. He was scheduled to end his military contract on Feb. 27 but
received a stop loss order that he would have to stay on active-duty
to re-deploy to Iraq with his unit.

"Marc served his tour of duty to Iraq honorably,” said Brenda
McElveen, Hall's mother. “To his dismay, he was told that he would be
deployed again. When Marc voiced his concerns over this matter, his
concerns fell on deaf ears. To let his frustration be known, Marc
wrote and released the song. Marc is not now nor has he ever been
violent."

Using stop loss orders, the US military has stopped about 185,000
soldiers from leaving the military since 2001. An additional 13,000
troops are now serving under stop-loss orders. President Obama said he
thinks the practice should be stopped.

Hall, 34, was charged Dec. 17 with five specifications in violation of
Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Conduct, including
“wrongfully threatening acts of violence against members of his unit.”
His arrest came about a month after 13 people were killed in a
shooting incident at Fort Hood, Texas. Hall, whose hiphop name is Marc
Watercus, mailed a copy of his “Stop Loss” song to the Pentagon.

Based at Fort Stewart, Hall said the song was a “free expression of
how people feel about the Army and its stop-loss policy” not a threat.
“My first sergeant said he actually liked the song and that he did not
take it as a threat,” Hall added.

A South Carolina native, Hall wanted to leave the military to spend
more time with his wife and child.

Hall’s song: http://marcwatercus.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/stoploss.mp3

A copy of the US Army’s press release about transferring Hall to Iraq
is available on request.

IVAW is a national organization of veterans and active-duty service
members who have served since September 11, 2001 – including those who
took part in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
IVAW also is dedicated to fighting for adequate physical and mental
healthcare, full benefits, and other support for returning veterans.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.IVAW.ORG

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