US judge blocks second court martial for Iraq war objector (Lt. Watada)

[Synnical]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071109/wl_afp/usmilitarytrial_071109062430;_ylt=AmEIAC47wGH6qCPJjGCQpmqs0NUE

US judge blocks second court martial for Iraq war objector Fri Nov 9, 1:49 AM ET

TACOMA, United States (AFP) - A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a second court martial for a US military officer who openly refused to go to war in Iraq.

Judge Benjamin Settle issued a preliminary injunction saying a second court martial for First Lieutenant Ehren Watada might violate his constitutional rights to avoid legal double jeopardy, or being tried for the same crime twice.

Watada's first court martial ended in a mistrial in February.

The officer's attorney Ken Kagan called the decision an "enormous victory, but it is not yet over."

The burden now appeared to be on government prosecutors to persuade the judge to lift the injunction and go ahead with the court martial, Kagan said in an e-mail.

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