Two American peace activists who went to Iraq as "human shields" against the war now face fines of up to $10,000 (8,906 Euro) from the US Treasury Department for violating a ban on travel to Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
"Those who violate the established international and US sanctions can expect the law will be fully and fairly enforced," US Treasury spokesman Taylor Griffin said on Tuesday, although he declined to address specific cases.
ABC News reported the Treasury Department has contacted about five Americans who were among 300 people from various countries who went to Iraq in a futile effort to prevent the US-led war.
Ryan Clancy, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, record store owner, and retired school teacher Faith Fippinger of Sarasota, Florida, acknowledged they had received notices from the Treasury Department. And both said they have no intention of paying the fines.
"I can't in good conscious give the Treasury Department money for the privilege of having met the people that my country was going to bomb and kill," Clancy told ABC.
Fippinger, 62, sent her response in a letter to the agency in May saying that an alternative should be considered.
"If it comes to fines or imprisonment, please be aware that I will not contribute money to the United States government to continue the build-up of its arsenal of weapons," Fippinger wrote, according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
The Treasury Department said politics was not a factor in the enforcement of the sanctions laws and protesters do not get to choose which laws to abide by and which to ignore.
"Unlike in Iraq, under Saddam Hussein where dissent was met with imprisonment or worse, the freedom to protest and disagree with the government is the cornerstone of American democracy. However the right to free speech is not a right to violate US or international sanctions," Griffin said.
The Treasury Department said the Americans facing fines can negotiate a settlement or appeal in federal court. If they refuse to pay they could face as much as 12 years in prison but a Treasury official said it was unlikely anyone would be sent to jail.