Soldier jailed over absencein war protest

A YORKSHIRE soldier who went absent without leave rather than serve a second tour in Afghanistan was jailed for nine months and reduced to the ranks by a military court yesterday.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton, 27, from New Earswick, York, a member of the Royal Logistic Corps, is thought to be the first serving soldier to speak out against the Government’s policy in Afghanistan.

His legal representative John Tipple said: “What we have seen here today is the Ministry of Defence and the Government refusing to take account of the fact that thousands of soldiers are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.”

Glenton took part in an anti-war protest in October last year. “It is quite obvious that the judge decided that Joe Glenton should pay for showing courage and speaking out to the media against an illegal war,” Mr Tipple added.

“It was his responsibility to hand out weapons that were killing innocent civilians, and he spoke against that.

“Today Gordon Brown answers questions to his mates at the Chilcot Inquiry. He doesn’t have any consequence. Yet Joe Glenton has now been jailed for nine months. It is an outrage. We will be appealing.”

His mother Sue Glenton said: “The MoD have let us down, they have let Joe down, they have let his comrades down, and they should hang their heads in shame.

“I am extremely angry. The court barely paid lip service to justice. The judge clearly didn't listen to the arguments or if she did she ignored them. The lawyers are considering an appeal. The Ministry of Defence will be hearing a lot more from me.”

The court martial in Colchester was told that Glenton, who admitted being absent without leave, was discovered missing on June 11, 2007, when he was due to return to Dalton Barracks in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

He was absent for 737 days before handing himself in, prosecutor Group Capt Tim Backer said. Glenton performed a seven-month tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2006.

The court heard he was ordered back after nine months – even though military guidelines suggest soldiers should not be deployed again within 18 months – and was bullied when he complained.

Mitigating, Nick Wrack said Glenton had suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his first stint in the war zone.

“He was called a coward and a malingerer,” Mr Wrack said.

“When this information was brought to his commanding officer, the sergeant was spoken to, but this reinforced the bullying.”

Consultant psychiatrist Lars Davidsson told the court: “He told me of how he supplied coffins for the dead servicemen. He had dreams of coffins being lined up.

“When he got back he was drinking heavily and having sleeping problems. Sometimes he would have bad dreams and wake up screaming. He was agitated when he heard any loud bangs.”

Mr Wrack said Glenton joined the army in a “wave of enthusiasm” believing the troops’ presence would improve the country,and bring democracy and equality.

“More and more he began to see that the conflict in Afghanistan was wrong. He spoke out about it, perhaps in a bold fashion. He questioned the morality and legality of the war, and spoke publicly about it when he returned.”

But Judge Advocate Emma Peters told him he had left his comrades under-manned at a crucial time before deployment. “Rather than letting the system help you, you decided to go absent,” she said.

Glenton, now a private, will serve two thirds of his sentence at a military corrective training centre.

A spokesman for the Stop the War Coalition said: “Joe Glenton is not the person who should be facing a jail sentence. It should be the politicians.”