Watada walks ... for now...

On 7 February, the court martial of US army officer Ehren Watada ended in a mistrial when the military judge halted the case due to inconsistencies in a pre-trial agreement, which had been accepted by both prosecution and defence a week before the trial.

Despite the objections of the defence team, the judge granted a prosecution motion for mistrial. The army subsequently announced 19 March as the new trial date. However, according to Watada's attorney, “The mistrial is very likely to have the consequence of ending this case because double jeopardy may prevent ... a retrial”. In June 2006, First Lieutenant Watada became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the Iraq War and occupation. In theory, he faces up to four years' imprisonment.