Katherine Jashinski Released!

> Hello All,
>
> Katherine Jashinski was released from the military brig last week  after
> completing her sentence. The Free Katherine Support Committee sends  a big
> thank you to all who supported Katherine during this time. We will be
> transfering this account to Katherine, so messages can still be  sent to
> her through this email account. (freekatherine (at) mutualaid (dot)  org)
>
> Katherine is doing well at home in Austin, and will be spending 2  weeks in
> Mexico before going back to school in the fall.
>
> In this email you will find:
> 1. Update and thank you letter from Katherine
> 2. Update on Lt. Watada's charges and status
> 3. Update on Suzanne Swift
>
> ------------------
> 1. From Katherine:
>
> "hello everyone and thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the  letters
> and support you gave me during my time in the brig.  i can not  express how
> great it is to be home in austin again.  i'm very overwhelmed right  now by
> all i have to do to get resituated, but everyday gets a little bit  easier.
> fyi-for the last 3 weeks i was incarcerated i didn't receive any  mail at
> all
> because the postal clerk thought that i was trying to deceive her and
> correspond with media personnel, which was against brig rules.  it's a
> long
> story, but i'm sure a lot of you had mail sent back to you because  of it.
> i'm very excited because i've decided to leave for mexico on the  24th for
> a
> personal vacation and i'll be back in mid august.  i will contact  many of
> you then.  i'm looking forward to catching up with people i have  missed.
> thanks again friends.  hasta luego."
>
> -------------------
> 2. Update on Lt. Ehren Watada:
>
> On July 5, U.S. Army First Lt. Ehren K. Watada (an infantry officer
> stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, who has refused to deploy to Iraq
> with his unit because he believes the war there is illegal) was  formally
> charged with three articles of the Uniform Code of Military  Justice: two
> counts of contempt towards officials (Article 88) - specifically  President
> G. W. Bush, three counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and a  gentleman
> (Article 133), and one count of missing movement (Article 87). If
> convicted of all six charges by a general court-martial, Lt. Watada  could
> be sentenced to over seven years in a military prison.
>
> Read a recent article about Ehren from The Nation at
> http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060717/brechersmith
>
> To Support Ehren please visit www.thankyoult.org
>
> -----------------------
> 3.Update on Suzanne Swift
>
>  Suzanne Swift is a veteran of the Iraqi War and a survivor of  systemic
> sexual assault during her military service. Facing a redeployment  to Iraq
> while serving under the command of the same individuals now under
> investigation for rape and sexual harassment, Suzanne chose to go  absent
> without leave rather than subjugate herself to the horrors she
> experienced during her first tour of duty. She was arrested in  Eugene, OR
> in June and transfered to Ft. Lewis (Washington).
>
> Saturday July 15th was a national day of action in support of Suzanne
> Swift. For more info and to support Suzanne, please visit
> www.suzannewsift.org
>
>
> -----------------
> -----------------
>
> Katherine Jashinski is a Conscientious Objector whose application  for a
> discharge was denied by the Army after almost 18 months. On May 23  she was
> court-martialed for refusing to train with weapons and received a bad
> conduct discharge and a sentence of 120 days imprisonment. With  credit for
> time served awaiting court  martial, Katherine had to serve 47 more  days
> in prison.
>
> For more information about Katherine, visit
> http://www.myspace.com/freekatherine
>
> After completing her sentence, Katherine will return to school at the
> University of Texas at Austin and continue her work with the newly  founded
> Austin GI Rights Hotline.