Treason

Legally, treason was defined as actions that were criminal in nature against a government that was legitimately recognized, or against its representatives. The definition of what constituted treason was interpreted broadly by certain governments; the Galactic Empire considered any form of criticism against it or its policies as treasonous. Simply being overheard speaking ill of the Empire was enough to warrant arrest.

Desertion, which is the act of leaving a military post without authorization, and switching allegiance to an opposing force or the enemy, were regarded as forms of treason by governments such as the Empire.

During the time of the High Republic Era, Prince Phan-tu Zenn of Eiram and Princess Xiri A'lbaran of E'ronoh both consented to marriage in order to bring an end to the "Forever War" between their respective worlds, and the two heirs also developed feelings for each other. Numerous Eirami denounced Zenn as a betrayer of his own people, and A'lbaran faced comparable opposition, particularly from the extremist group known as the Children of E'ronoh. The failure of a peace summit held on the moon of Jedha reignited the conflict and further fueled the accusations against Zenn from his own people. Simultaneously, the Jedi Order launched an investigation into the Path of the Open Hand cult, which had been corrupted from a peaceful organization into a militant group by "the Mother" and a radicalized Marda Ro, who transformed the cult into the Path of the Closed Fist. Jedi Knight Gella Nattai had suspicions that if a member of the Path attempted to leave at that point, they would be labeled as a traitor and put to death. Ro disowned her own relative, Yana Ro, severing her right hand and having the Mother dismiss her as a traitor.

Marchion Ro, known as the Eye of the Nihil, did not anticipate Doctor Kisma Uttersond betraying him or the larger Nihil organization. However, Ro's trust in Uttersond diminished, and he began to suspect Uttersond of being a traitor, leading him to dispatch the Nihil members Zagyar and X-10 to keep an eye on the doctor. Once Uttersond's betrayal was confirmed, Ro instructed them not to kill him, reasoning that his death would not aid in identifying other potential traitors within the Nihil.

Ro also had collaborators within the Galactic Republic who aided his objectives. His primary spy inside the Republic around 232 BBY was Jeni Wataro, the aide to Senator Izzet Noor of Serenno. Nevertheless, Wataro considered herself "self-employed" and stated that she only worked for the Eye when it benefitted her. Ro later manipulated Senator Ghirra Starros of Hosnian Prime into committing treason. While in league with the Nihil, Starros and an accomplice attacked Dalnan Vice President Hackrack Bep on the Starlight Beacon space station, before assisting Ro in obtaining the station's blueprints, thereby facilitating its destruction.

Ghal Tarpfen, the Head of Security on Starlight Beacon, was briefly suspected of treason after the attack on Bep. She had been kidnapped after stumbling upon the crime scene and subsequently framed, as Starros and her accomplices used Tarpfen's security codes to erase any evidence from the cameras. Tarpfen identified the traitors and sent a warning message to the Republic, but only fragments of the message reached Starlight, leaving the Republic unaware of the traitors' identities.

Following the operation on Hissrich, Jedi Master Prosset Dibs was found guilty of treason for his attempt to murder Mace Windu, who was both a fellow Jedi Master and a general in the Grand Army of the Republic. Although Dibs, who was disillusioned and bitter towards the Jedi Order, anticipated a death sentence, he was instead sentenced to rehabilitation at Windu's request.

During the Battle of Christophsis, after a planned ambush against the Separatist Droid Army in Chaleydonia failed, Clone Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex discovered that another [clone trooper](/article/clone_trooper], Clone Sergeant Slick, had committed treason against the Galactic Republic by selling intelligence to Asajj Ventress and the Confederacy of Independent Systems (and detonating explosives that killed his fellow clones). Slick defended his actions, comparing service in the Republic Military to slavery for clones. The clone trooper officers who arrested him refuted his argument, pointing out that his actions had resulted in more clone deaths than would have occurred otherwise. Slick, having succeeded in destroying the base's heavy weapons depot before being captured, left the clone forces under the command of Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker vulnerable to an attack by the Separatists.

After the capture of Viceroy Nute Gunray on Rodia, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and Padawan Ahsoka Tano attempted to transport him to Coruscant. However, Senate Commando Captain Faro Argyus had secretly become a traitor and aided Count Dooku's assassin Ventress when she boarded the Jedi Cruiser Tranquility to rescue Gunray. Ventress killed Argyus shortly after their successful escape because he belittled her abilities and suggested he would minimize her role in the mission when reporting to Dooku.

Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore, who led the New Mandalorians, discovered several traitors to her government among individuals she had considered to be close political allies. Firstly, Governor Pre Vizsla of Concordia was exposed as the leader of the terrorist group Death Watch, which aimed to reinstate the Mandalorians' traditional warrior culture. Subsequently, Senator Tal Merrik of Kalevala was revealed to be a member of Death Watch, having orchestrated an attack on Kryze's yacht, the Coronet, in an attempt to capture her. Following Kryze's declaration of Mandalore's neutrality in the Clone Wars, widespread corruption led to the discovery by Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who was visiting and assisted by Kryze's nephew Korkie and his companions, that Prime Minister Almec was running a black market scheme to enrich himself. Almec was arrested after attempting to stage a coup against Kryze when he was at risk of being exposed.

Gungan minister Rish Loo committed treason by siding with Count Dooku, employing mind control to manipulate Boss Lyonie into ordering an attack on the Naboo alongside Separatist forces. After Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala revealed Loo's betrayal, he stabbed Lyonie and fled Otoh Gunga. Although the Boss recovered from the attack, Skywalker and Amidala, pressed for time, had Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks impersonate Lyonie to call off the attack. Dooku later killed Loo in his own laboratory because he was no longer useful.

During the Battle of Umbara, Jedi General Pong Krell was revealed as a traitor to the Galactic Republic. He had intentionally tried to cause the deaths of as many troopers under his command as possible in order to become Count Dooku's Sith apprentice. After Anakin Skywalker was summoned back to Coruscant by the Supreme Chancellor, Krell was temporarily placed in command of the 501st Legion. Krell's abrasive demeanor and costly strategies increasingly alienated the unit, culminating in troopers Fives and Jesse destroying an Umbaran supply ship against orders. Krell, viewing their actions as treason against him and his command, attempted to have them executed, but the firing squad refused. Krell then deceived the 501st and part of the 212th Attack Battalion into attacking each other, making them believe that the other unit was composed of disguised Umbarans. Once Krell was exposed, Captain Rex led the troopers from both units in arresting him. The clones then decided to execute Krell due to the risk that the remaining Umbaran forces would free him and gain valuable intelligence. Trooper Dogma was also taken into custody for stubbornly supporting Krell even after his betrayal had been revealed, although he ultimately executed Krell for his treason.

Atai Molec, the prime minister of the Zygerrian Slave Empire, betrayed his monarch, Queen Miraj Scintel, to Dooku. Scintel, who had sided with the Separatists to rebuild the enslaver empire, had attempted to make Skywalker, who had been captured on a mission to rescue abducted Togruta colonists, her personal slave instead of executing him as the Sith Lord had demanded. Scintel was angered by Molec's treachery, but Dooku Force choked her to death and blamed Skywalker for it in front of the Zygerrian guards. However, the Jedi Knight managed to escape with his Padawan Tano and persuade the dying Scintel to reveal that the colonists had been taken to Kadavo, which led to a battle to free them.

Ahsoka Tano was placed on trial for the bombing of a hangar at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. She was accused of murder and treason against the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic, but the real culprit, Barriss Offee, was exposed before the court could reach a verdict. All charges against Tano were dropped, but the young Togruta chose to decline the Jedi Order's offer to rejoin their ranks, as they had not supported her during the trial.

When clone trooper Tup suddenly killed Jedi Master Tiplar during the Battle of Ringo Vinda, he was detained for the treasonous act. However, Tup's unusual mental state afterward, which included not remembering what he had done during his brief moments of clarity, led the Jedi and other clones to suspect that Tup might have been brainwashed by the Separatists. Unbeknownst to anyone but the Sith, the true reason for Tup's actions was a malfunction in his behavioral modification biochip, which had been secretly implanted in all of the clones to ensure they would comply with carrying out Order 66, the Sith's secret plan to eliminate the Jedi. Eventually, the chips' existence was discovered, but the Kaminoan cloners claimed that the chips were there to prevent the clones from going insane, and Tup's actions were blamed on a Ringo Vindan parasite that caused his chip to fail. This narrative was also used to "explain" the actions of ARC trooper Fives, who had been framed for attempting to assassinate Supreme Chancellor Palpatine — secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and the mastermind behind the conspiracy — in order to discredit him after he had tried to uncover the truth behind Tup's actions.

After the Jedi Order tasked Jedi Master Quinlan Vos with assassinating the Separatist leader Count Dooku, he instead succumbed to the dark side of the Force, and for a time became Dooku's apprentice. He faced execution for this treason, but was given an opportunity to redeem himself. After he instead tried to get Dooku to lead him to his Sith Master, Darth Sidious, for training, fellow Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared and stated that both he and Dooku were under arrest for treason.

When the Jedi attempted to arrest Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine after he refused to relinquish control back to the Galactic Senate following the defeat of General Grievous, he declared "It's treason, then" and engaged them in lightsaber combat. Master Windu, in turn, argued that the Sith who had orchestrated the war was the true traitor to the Republic. After Anakin saved him, Sidious declared the members of the Jedi Order to be enemies of the Republic and traitors, and he ordered their execution through the secret command Order 66. This order compelled all clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic to turn against their Jedi Generals and kill them via the control chips implanted in their brains.

Order 66 also stipulated that any clone who disobeyed the command would also be executed for treason. This almost happened to then-Commander Rex after Ahsoka Tano freed him from the brainwashing by removing his control chip. Clone Lieutenant Jesse denounced Rex for refusing to comply with Order 66, accusing his former superior of treason against the Grand Army of the Republic. Tano and Rex managed to escape the chip-controlled clones. The crash of the Star Destroyer they were traveling on killed their pursuers, allowing them to cover their tracks and go into hiding.

The Galactic Empire frequently punished acts of disloyalty with the ultimate penalty: execution. Roughly five years following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious grew suspicious that certain officials within the Galactic Empire stationed on Ryloth were engaged in treasonous activities. This suspicion arose from the unexpected success of the Free Ryloth Movement's attacks, which Sidious believed could only be achieved with inside assistance. Consequently, he initiated a personal mission to Ryloth to uncover the betrayal, accompanied by his Sith apprentice, the formidable Darth Vader. His suspicions proved accurate when it was revealed that Imperial colonel Belkor Dray had been secretly providing information to the Free Ryloth movement for years, aiming to undermine his superior, Moff Delian Mors, and seize her position. During Sidious and Vader's investigation, Dray was manipulated into committing his most significant act of treachery: aiding the Free Ryloth movement in a direct assault on their personal command ship, the Perilous, and subsequently tracking the two Sith Lords after their escape to the planet. Dray further exploited the situation by orchestrating an attack on Moff Mors' vessel by the rebels. Ultimately, Dray's treason led to his demise when Moff Mors discovered the extent of his actions and ordered his execution by a V-wing starfighter, an attack he chose not to evade.

In the eighth year of the Empire's reign, Imperial advisor Count Denetrius Vidian perpetrated treason, instigating the events known as the Gorse Conflict. Driven by a desire to eliminate his rivals within the Imperial court, particularly Baron Lero Danthe, Vidian devised a plot to obliterate Gorse's moon, Cynda, and its abundant thorilide reserves, thereby discrediting Danthe. Aware of the substantial thorilide deposits on Gorse's sun-scorched side, Vidian intended to deceive Danthe into accepting responsibility for the disappearance of Cynda's reserves. He falsely claimed that these reserves would last for many years after the moon's destruction, according to a fabricated report. Vidian planned to then swoop in with heat-resistant mining droids, reverse-engineered from Danthe's designs, to claim the credit for himself. However, a diverse group of rebels, including pilot Hera Syndulla, fugitive Jedi Padawan Kanan Jarrus, and volatile explosives expert Skelly, uncovered Vidian's treachery. This provided Imperial Navy captain Rae Sloane with the necessary evidence for the Empire to turn against Vidian before Cynda could be destroyed. Following Skelly's act of killing both Vidian and himself by detonating the Forager, the count's treason was concealed, attributing his death to a relapse of his Shilmer's syndrome.

Lieutenant [Gorn](/article/gorn] turned against the Empire following the death of the woman he loved at the hands of Imperials. When a pair of Imperial agents harassed Yoffar for operating without a license to sell jogan fruit, Yoffar lamented the changes since the Empire's arrival on Lothal. Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko deemed his words treasonous and attempted to arrest him, but Ezra Bridger's intervention allowed Yoffar to escape. Later, Bridger encountered the inhabitants of Tarkintown, many of whom had been arrested for similar "treasonous" remarks.

During his time at the Academy for Young Imperials and subsequently at the Arkanis Academy, Zare Leonis, an Imperial cadet, covertly engaged in acts of treason against the Galactic Empire. Despite these actions, when an Imperial crackdown commenced on Lothal, and fellow cadets reported hearing rumors of a cadet at the Pretor Flats Academy being apprehended by stormtroopers for confessing to treason, Leonis dismissed such claims. Portraying himself as the ideal cadet, he dissuaded his peers from believing what he called "friend-of-your-brother" stories. However, Leonis' own treachery was eventually exposed at the Arkanis Academy. He was subjected to a tribunal and sentenced to death by firing squad, but he escaped before the execution could be carried out.

In the aftermath of an Imperial crackdown on Lothal, Minister Maketh Tua, previously a loyal Imperial official, experienced growing moral conflict concerning the Empire's harsh methods in their pursuit of a group of rebels who had consistently disrupted Imperial operations on the planet. Driven by both moral concerns and fear for her own safety, she chose to betray the Empire by defecting. She offered the rebels information regarding other rebel sympathizers in exchange for assistance in escaping Lothal. However, her defection attempt failed, as the Empire monitored her actions, resulting in her death in an explosion orchestrated by the Empire under the supervision of Darth Vader. The rebels were then falsely blamed for her death in a public statement.

Following a rebellious act involving the theft of a medical frigate, the Galactic Empire traced the incident back to elements within Christophsis. The Empire then arrested numerous members of the planet's government and executed Christophsis's prime minister for treason. As a warning, the Empire "pacified" his home city of Tophen.

Imperial propaganda artist Coba Dunivee was arrested on fabricated treason charges at the order of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. This arrest stemmed from her creation of the propaganda piece Imperial Campaign Poster 34.371.C. Unlike Dunivee's earlier works, which adhered to a standard brutalist style, this poster appeared to emulate the vibrant artwork of Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian artist aligned with the rebellion. Following her arrest for attempting to copy the competition, Dunivee disappeared from all records.

Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit betrayed the Galactic Empire during the construction of the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station. He diverted components intended for project, such as laser cannons, to other Imperial initiatives. These included projects led by Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, also known as Thrawn, involving TIE Defenders, and the construction of additional Imperial Star Destroyers. After Thrawn discovered Savit's treason, he offered him an opportunity to avoid imprisonment by assisting the Chiss Ascendancy in destroying the Grysk Hegemony's forces. Savit refused and launched an attack on Thrawn's flagship, the Chimaera, in a skirmish. Thrawn ultimately prevailed, thanks to the efforts of Commodore Karyn Faro in defending the Chimaera and the assistance of Imperial Security Bureau Major Dayja Collerand in apprehending the treacherous Grand Admiral. However, Palpatine also recognized that Thrawn's loyalties were torn between his people and his oath to the Empire, leaving him on the edge of treason.

The Galactic Empire considered any act of rebellion against its rule as treason, even if not explicitly labeled as such. When Senator Mon Mothma publicly condemned the Ghorman Massacre, the Empire accused her of treason. Upon capturing Princess Leia Organa, Darth Vader dismissed her pleas, identifying her as "a member of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor." He then subjected her to severe torture in an attempt to extract information about the location of the stolen Death Star plans. Later, following the destruction of the Death Star, Inferno Squad was established with the mission of investigating and addressing acts of treason both within and outside the Empire's ranks.

Following the significant events of the Battle of Endor, Imperial Governor [Ubrik Adelhard](/article/ubrik_adelhard] denounced reports of the destruction of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station and the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader as treasonous rumors. He subsequently established the Iron Blockade and began persecuting those who disseminated these "rumors."

When Lady Carise Sindian put forward the suggestion of First Senator as a novel designation within the Galactic Senate of the New Republic to supplant the position of Chancellor, it was immediately denounced as an act of high treason against the fundamental principles of the New Republic.

The desertion of the stormtrooper designated FN-2187, who later adopted the name "Finn," was regarded as an act of profound treason by the First Order. Subsequent to his defection, several members of the First Order, including FN-2199 and Kylo Ren, labeled the former stormtrooper as a traitor.

The executioner trooper represented a specialized category of First Order stormtrooper entrusted with the responsibility of executing First Order soldiers found culpable of treason.