Members of Bermudians Against the Draft (BAD) were given their marching orders to get to Warwick Camp just hours after losing their Court of Appeal case against conscription.

Campaign leader Larry Marshall Sr. interpreted the instruction sent as BAD plans to fight on to the Privy Council as threatening arrest if they fail to show at the Regiment's HQ on Friday.

"Technically speaking the case is over, but we've made our intention clear that we intend on going to the Privy Council. They've used this as a window of opportunity to harass the young men in an attempt to weaken our resolve.

"The tactic is obvious, and it's a sad day in Bermuda when plaintiffs could be subject to arrest and incarceration when they have not exhausted their legal avenues," he claimed.

"If they carry out this threat we will be put in a lose-lose situation. These young men could sit in prison for a year while we wait to go to the Privy Council and win."

The letter was e-mailed to BAD's lawyer Delroy Duncan by Government lawyer Huw Shepherd at 3.33 p.m on Friday.

Mr. Shepherd wrote: "Following this morning's judgement by the Court of Appeal, I am instructed to ask if you would kindly let your clients know that they are required to report at Warwick Camp at 11 a.m. on Friday 5 December 2008 to undergo, where appropriate, medical examination for the purpose of being enlisted into the Bermuda Regiment.

"If any of your clients wishes to make application to the Defence Exemption Tribunal, I am further instructed that facilities to enable such applications to be made will be available at the camp on 5 December."

Although no reference to arresting the men was made in the letter, Mr. Marshall believes they "definitely" will be if they don't turn up. He declined to comment on whether they plan to do so or not. Back in January 2007, just after BAD launched its legal fight, Chief Justice Richard Ground refused to grant members immunity from arrest for skipping duties.

However, Mr. Marshall said he believed that until Friday's letter, there was an "informal indication" this would not happen until the judicial process was exhausted. He has contacted the organisations War Resisters' International and the Peace Pledge Union to tell them about the case.

During the Court of Appeal hearing last month, BAD's Queen's Counsel Jonathan Crow urged the three judges to overturn Mr. Justice Ground's March 2008 ruling that mandatory service in the Bermuda Regiment does not break the law.

Mr. Crow made six key points: that conscription is unconstitutional in the way it forces men into labour, discriminative against men because women aren't made to serve, that the establishment of a quota for women should have been explored, that not enough effort has been made to recruit volunteers before resorting to conscription and that the men's call-up notices were invalid for technical reasons relating to the way they were published.

The Court of Appeal rejected all six points. However, Mr. Duncan said on Friday afternoon that BAD had already instructed him to launch an appeal to the Privy Council, Bermuda's highest court of appeal, which sits in London. A petition seeking leave to do so must be filed within 21 days.

Mr. Marshall declined to comment on the cost of the ongoing litigation, but said: "We did anticipate a long legal battle from the outset. Although we're disappointed by the Court of Appeal ruling, it in no way diminishes our resolve to see this struggle through to the end.

"I will say that the irony of Bermudians going to Britain to fight to abolish forced labour through conscription, which was already abolished in Britain, is mind boggling to say the least.

"We feel that it has no place in the 21st century. We still feel that we have a very strong case."

The policy of recruiting by conscription is administered by the Defence Department in order to ensure that the Regiment has enough soldiers to fulfil its functions of civil and military security, disaster relief and ceremonial duties.

All Bermudian men aged over 18 and under 32 are liable to call-up through a random ballot.

A Government House spokesman declined to comment on the letter sent to the BAD members, but issued a statement on the Court of Appeal ruling which said: "The verdict speaks for itself. As to the process, it is good to see our well regarded, independent judicial system used to test issues such as this."

A spokeswoman for David Burch, Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing, said: "Minister Burch is aware of the continuing litigation as it relates to the BAD appeal and said he will continue to monitor the progress of this latest legal action.

"However, at this stage, Minister Burch does not have any further comment on the matter."

A Regiment spokesman declined to comment.