Jury convicts soldier who deserted Iraqi unit in protest of war

<p>A military jury convicted a U.S. soldier Friday of desertion for leaving his combat unit in Iraq in protest of what he called an "oil-driven war."</p><p>Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia of the Florida National Guard was found guilty by a jury of four officers and four enlisted soldiers. They deliberated about two hours.</p><p>He faces up to a year in jail and a bad conduct discharge when he's sentenced Friday afternoon.</p><p>Mejia, 28, said he disobeyed orders to return to his unit from a two-week furlough in October because his war experiences prompted him to seek status as a conscientious objector. He turned himself in to the Army five months later.</p><p>After the verdict was read, Mejia hugged his mother, Maritza Castillo, and she kissed him on the cheek.</p><p>"He feels that he still did the right thing, and he did it under his conscience and his beliefs. His feelings have not changed," Castillo said.</p><p>Military prosecutors argued Mejia, an infantry squad leader, abandoned his troops and didn't fulfill his duty.</p><p>"He enjoyed all the benefits of the military, just not the duty," Capt. A.J. Balbo, the lead prosecutor, said in his closing argument. "The defense says he accomplished all his missions. Except the most important one _ showing up."</p><p>In March, when he turned himself in, Mejia said he would rather go to prison than fight in Iraq.</p><p>Mejia testified Thursday that he disobeyed orders to return to his unit after a furlough because he planned to seek status as a conscientious objector. He said he also believed he should have been discharged under a National Guard regulation limiting service of non-U.S. citizens to eight years. Mejia, a citizen of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, served for nine years.</p><p>Mejia said he became upset after seeing civilians hit by gunfire and watching an Iraqi boy die after confusion over which military doctor should treat him.</p><p>Defense lawyer Louis Font said in his closing argument that Mejia made "an honest mistake of fact."</p><p>"This case clearly is about what was in the accused's mind," Font said. "He had an honest and reasonable view that because he had become a conscientious objector, he would not be required to serve in Iraq anymore."</p><p>Mejia's application to be an objector is being considered separately from his court-martial on the desertion charge.</p><p>In his objector application, he also claims he saw Iraqi prisoners treated cruelly when he was put in charge of processing detainees last May at al-Assad, an Iraqi air base occupied by U.S. forces.</p>