Who We are

//

What's happening

//

Our Cases

Featured Page

Confronting Religious Persecution at the IRF Summit

Feb. 10Stories That Demand Action:

Last week I spoke on a panel at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C.—a global gathering that brings together advocates, policymakers, and legal experts from around the world who are on the front lines of defending religious freedom. The Summit provides a rare forum to share firsthand experiences, expose ongoing...More

Active Cases

Save Christians From Murder in Congo

Save Christians From Murder in...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has once again become the site of unspeakable violence , with Christian communities being targeted by terrorists and militant forces. On February 15, over 70 Christians – primarily women, children, and the elderly – were added to the list of victims when they were abducted...More

Sign Petition

>

Cases

>

News

>

Petitions

>

Who We Are

>

Sign Up For Updates

>

<

SFC Charles Martland

Light is beginning to shine into the darkness.  We’ve written about the rampant and shocking sexual abuse of children happening in Afghanistan (an evil one of our nation’s finest now faces expulsion from the military for confronting). And now, your voices have been heard by a bipartisan, bicameral group of 93 Members of Congress who have demanded an investigation into reports that the U.S. Military told our troops to ignore Afghan soldier’s sexual enslavement of young children.

In its quarterly report released just days ago , the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) – a Pentagon watchdog – announced the formal inquiry.

The report detailed, “The inquiry will also look into the manner in which the Leahy amendment prohibiting DOD and the State Department from providing assistance to the units of foreign security forces that have committed gross violations of human rights is implemented in Afghanistan.”

This is an excellent step in the right direction, but there is still much more work to do.

Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland could still be kicked out of the Army any day now because he witnessed this sexual abuse firsthand and did the morally right thing to put a stop to it.

This Green Beret war hero, who has been awarded the Bronze Star Medal for courage and valor defending our nation, faces expulsion from the army for standing up to an Afghan commander who was sexually assaulting and raping a young Afghan boy.

SFC  Martland did the right thing and removed this predator from the U.S. military base.

And now the military bureaucracy is days away from kicking him out.

It’s why we sent legal letters to the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, G-1; the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army; the Secretary of Defense; and President Obama, on SFC Martland’s behalf.

It’s why we sent legal letters to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of Armed Services Committees for both the Senate (Chairman John McCain and Ranking Member Jack Reed) and House (Chairman Mac Thornberry and Ranking Member Adam Smith), urging them to intervene on behalf of SFC Martland.

And it’s why, today, the ACLJ sent 19 letters to the following veterans groups alerting them to this problem and rallying them to SFC  Martland’s cause to ensure justice is served and the U.S. Military does the right thing:

• Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW)

• The American Legion

• Air Force Sergeants Association

• American Veterans, Inc. (AMVETS)

• Association of the United States Army (AUSA)

• Catholic War Veterans of the United States of America

• Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

• Italian American War Veterans of the USA

• The Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America

• The Marine Corps League

• The Military Officers Association of America

• The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW)

• The Navy League of the United States

• National Association of American Veterans

• The National Association for Black Veterans (NABVETS)

• The National Guard Association of the United States

• Non Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA)

• The Retired Enlisted Association (TREA)

• Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA)

Like our previous letters, we fully lay out the facts of SFC Martland’s case, how he acted in compliance with U.S. and international law, and why the U.S. government must do the right thing. The letters conclude:

In light of the foregoing, we respectfully request that you and your members contact DOD officials and Members of Congress to take swift action to correct this miscarriage of justice.  Brave men and women in uniform, like SFC Martland, CPT Quinn, and many unnamed others, deserve no less from their comrades in the U.S. Armed Forces.

You too must join our fight and be heard for SFC  Martland.  Contact Members of Congress. Sign our petition.

Time is running out.

345,176

Signatures

Jay Sekulow  //

Apr 29, 2016

It’s a massive victory more than six months in the making. Sergeant First Class Charles Martland – a decorated war hero who faced expulsion from the Army for defending a child – has been exonerated and will be...

ACLJ Staff Writers  //

Apr 26, 2016

You’ve spoken out in a powerful way. In less than two weeks, 66,845 of you signed on to our letters or wrote letters of your own to save Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland – a decorated war hero...

ACLJ Staff Writers  //

Apr 08, 2016

Over 337,000 of you have signed our petition to defend a war hero, Sergeant First Class (SFC) Charles Martland. But now, as his fate hangs in the balance of his final appeal to save his career, the ACLJ is...