Mistrial ordered in case of anti-war soldier

FORT LEWIS, Wash. – A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the court-martial of an Army lieutenant who refused to go to Iraq, just as the soldier was to testify in his own defense.

Military judge Lt. Col. John Head said he did not believe 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, 28, fully understood a document he signed admitting to elements of the charges against him.

The judge announced his decision after Watada, under questioning with the military jury absent, said he never intended to admit he had a duty to go to Iraq with his fellow soldiers – one element of the crime of missing troop movement.

Head set a March 19 date for a new trial and dismissed the jurors. The prosecution had rested but the defense had not yet presented any witnesses.

Watada’s defense lawyer, Eric Seitz, objected to the mistrial and said a second trial would amount to double jeopardy – more than one prosecution for the same alleged crime.

Watada, 28, of Honolulu, had been expected to testify in his own defense Wednesday, but Head and lawyers in the case met in closed session for much of the morning.

Prosecutors have said Watada abandoned his soldiers and brought disgrace upon himself and the service by accusing the Army of war crimes and denouncing the Bush administration for conducting an illegal war founded on lies.