[Shasown]

A soldier has been jailed by court martial after refusing to fight in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Joe Glenton went absent without leave (AWOL) rather than serve a second tour in the country. He later campaigned against the conflict.

The 27-year-old was jailed for nine months and reduced to the ranks at a military court in Colchester, Essex, after admitting the AWOL charge.

The court martial hearing was told that Glenton went 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 Captain Tim Backer said.

Glenton, from York, had already performed a seven-month tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2006 serving with the Royal Logistic Corps, the hearing was told.

On his return, he was ordered to go back to the conflict zone after nine months, although army guidelines suggest soldiers should not be deployed again within 18 months.

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

When the soldier raised concerns about going back out, he suffered bullying, Mr Wrack said.

"When he first raised with his staff sergeant his reluctance to be deployed again, instead of being dealt with in a sensible way it resulted in the sergeant at the time bullying and intimidating Lance Corporal Glenton," said Mr Wrack.

"He was called a coward and a malingerer.

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

Glenton was the first serving member of the armed forces to have headed up an anti-war demonstration since the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.


Courtesy of Sky News.