LONDON (AFP) - A British soldier was jailed for nine months by a military court on Friday for refusing to serve a second tour in Afghanistan. Lance Corporal Joe Glenton was also stripped of his rank in the court martial hearing in Colchester, southeast England, after admitting going absent without leave in 2007. The 27-year-old - who later went on to campaign against the Afghanistan conflict - had served a seven-month tour of duty in the violence-scarred country in 2006. But Glenton failed to return to barracks as scheduled in June 2007, and remained absent for 737 days until he turned himself in to military authorities, said prosecutor Tim Backer. His defence counsel said Glenton suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, and noted that he was ordered back to Afghanistan after only nine months out, while military guidelines advise at least an 18-month break from the frontline. When he first raised with his staff sergeant his reluctance to be deployed again, instead of being dealt with in a sensible way it resulted in the sergeant at the time bullying and intimidating Glenton, said Nick Wrack. He was called a coward and a malingerer. When this information was brought to his commanding officer, the sergeant was spoken to, but this reinforced the bullying, he added.