COMMENT: Human shield refuses to pay hefty fine

[Guest guest]

This story is happening right here in my backyard so to speak. It is really

sad day when the U.S. government threatens and harasses U.S. citizens only

voicing their opinions. What happen to this great country where if you

protest you are an enemy of this country? Since when it is a crime to

disagree with the current " Regime " .

 

What happened to our Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution?

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CNN.com - Human shield refuses to pay hefty fine - Aug. 12, 2003

Human shield refuses to pay hefty fine

 

Fippinger notified the government that she would not pay a fine for going

to Iraq before the war.

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/LAW/08/11/human.shield.fine.ap/

SARASOTA, Florida (AP) -- A retired schoolteacher who went to Iraq to serve

as a " human shield " against the U.S. invasion is facing thousands of dollars

in U.S. government fines, which she is refusing to pay.

 

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a March letter to Faith

Fippinger that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the

war.

 

Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens

from engaging in " virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or

trade transactions with Iraq. "

 

She and others from 30 countries spread out through Iraq to prevent the war.

She spent about three months there. Only about 20 of nearly 300 " human

shields " were Americans, she said.

Fippinger, who returned home May 4, is being fined at least $10,000, but

she has refused to pay. She could face up to 12 years in prison.

 

In her response to the charges, she wrote the government that " if t comes

to fines or imprisonment, " please be aware that I will not contribute money

to the United States government to continue the buildup of its arsenal of

weapons. " Since she won't pay, she said, " perhaps the alternative should be

considered. "

 

The government also has asked Fippinger, 62, to detail her travels to Iraq

and any financial transactions she made. In her response, Fippinger wrote

that the only money she spent was on food and emergency supplies. If

Fippinger does not pay, the fine may increase, and the money will be drawn

from her retirement paycheck, her Social Security check or any of her

assets, officials said.

 

" She was (in Iraq) in violation of U.S. sanctions, " said Taylor Griffin, a

Treasury Department spokesman. " That's what happens. "

Shortly before the U.S. invasion in March, Fippinger was one of several

dozen human shields scattered around a refinery in Baghdad. " We are planning

to stay here in the refinery if war breaks out, " Fippinger said at the time.

" We are staying here because we think this war is unjust. "

 

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.