Treason

Legally, treason was characterized as a criminal action taken against a legitimate government or its appointed officials. Some governing bodies adopted a more expansive interpretation of what qualified as treason; for instance, the Galactic Empire considered any expression of disapproval towards the Empire itself, or its established policies, as treasonous. The mere act of voicing opposition to the Empire was enough to result in immediate arrest.

Acts such as Desertion, which involves leaving a military assignment without authorization, and defecting to the opposing side or an enemy force, were recognized as forms of treason by governments like the Empire.

During the High Republic Era, Prince Phan-tu Zenn of Eiram and Princess Xiri A'lbaran of E'ronoh came to an understanding to marry in order to bring an end to the long-standing "Forever War" between their respective planets, with both heirs also developing feelings for each other. A significant number of Eirami regarded Zenn as a traitor to his own people, while A'lbaran faced similar difficulties and opposition from the extremist group known as the Children of E'ronoh. The collapse of a peace summit held on the moon of Jedha led to the resumption of hostilities and renewed accusations against Zenn from his own people. Concurrently, the Jedi Order was investigating the Path of the Open Hand cult, which had been transformed from a peaceful organization into a militant faction by "the Mother" and a radicalized Marda Ro, who restructured the cult into the Path of the Closed Fist. Jedi Knight Gella Nattai suspected that any member of the Path attempting to leave at that point would be labeled a traitor and subjected to execution. Ro ultimately abandoned her own cousin, Yana Ro, severing her right hand, and the Mother dismissed her as a traitor.

Marchion Ro, known as the Eye of the Nihil, initially believed that Doctor Kisma Uttersond was unlikely to betray him or the broader Nihil organization. However, Ro's trust in Uttersond diminished, leading him to suspect Uttersond of being a traitor. As a result, he deployed the Nihil members Zagyar and X-10 to keep the doctor under surveillance. Upon confirming Uttersond's treachery, Ro instructed them not to kill the doctor, 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. Around 232 BBY, his primary spy within the Republic was Jeni Wataro, who served as the aide to Senator Izzet Noor of Serenno. However, Wataro considered herself "self-employed" and stated that she only worked for the Eye when it suited her. Ro later manipulated Senator Ghirra Starros of Hosnian Prime into committing treason. While collaborating with the Nihil, Starros, along with an accomplice, launched an attack on Dalnan Vice President Hackrack Bep aboard the Starlight Beacon space station, and subsequently facilitated the station's destruction by assisting Ro in obtaining its blueprints.

Ghal Tarpfen, the Head of Security on Starlight Beacon, was briefly suspected of treason following the assault on Bep. She had been kidnapped after discovering the crime scene and subsequently framed, as Starros and her accomplices used Tarpfen's security codes to erase any evidence from the cameras. Tarpfen uncovered the identities of the traitors and sent a warning message back to the Republic, but only fragments of the message were received by Starlight, leaving the Republic uninformed about the traitors' identities.

Following the operation on Hissrich, Jedi Master Prosset Dibs was found guilty of treason for his attempt to murder Mace Windu, a fellow Jedi Master and a general in the Grand Army of the Republic. Despite Dibs's expectation of receiving the death penalty, due to his disillusionment and anger towards the Jedi Order, he was instead sentenced to rehabilitation at Windu's request.

During the Battle of Christophsis, after a planned ambush on the Separatist Droid Army in [Chaleydonia](/article/chaleydonia] was unsuccessful, Clone Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex discovered that another clone trooper, Clone Sergeant Slick, had committed treason against the Galactic Republic by selling information 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. His rationale was rejected by the arresting clone trooper officers, who highlighted that Slick's actions had resulted in more clone deaths than would have occurred otherwise. Slick, having successfully destroyed the base's heavy weapons depot before his capture, left the clone forces commanded by Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker vulnerable to an attack by the Separatists.

Following 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 assisted Count Dooku's assassin Ventress when she boarded the Jedi Cruiser Tranquility to facilitate Gunray's escape. Ventress killed Argyus shortly after their successful escape when he belittled her abilities and implied he would minimize her contributions to the mission in his report to Dooku.

Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore, the leader of the New Mandalorians, discovered several traitors to her government among individuals she considered to be close political associates. Firstly, Governor Pre Vizsla of Concordia was revealed to be the leader of the terrorist group Death Watch, which aimed to restore the Mandalorians' traditional warrior culture. Subsequently, Senator Tal Merrik of Kalevala was exposed as a member of Death Watch, who orchestrated an attack on Kryze's yacht the Coronet in an attempt to capture her. After Kryze ensured Mandalore's neutrality in the Clone Wars, widespread corruption led to the discovery by visiting Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, with the assistance of Kryze's nephew Korkie and some of his friends, that Prime Minister Almec was running a black market 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, using 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 treachery, 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 had outlived his usefulness.

During the Battle of Umbara, Jedi General Pong Krell was revealed to be a traitor to the Galactic Republic, having intentionally tried to get as many of the clone troopers under his command killed as possible in an attempt to become the Sith apprentice of Count Dooku. After Anakin Skywalker was recalled to Coruscant by the Supreme Chancellor, Krell was placed in temporary command of the 501st Legion. Krell's abrasive demeanor and costly strategies increasingly alienated the unit, culminating in troopers Fives and Jesse detonating an Umbaran supply ship against orders. Krell, considering their actions treason against him and his command, attempted to have them executed, but the firing squad refused. Krell then tricked the 501st and part of the 212th Attack Battalion into attacking each other, making them believe that the other unit was disguised Umbarans. With Krell unmasked, Captain Rex led the troopers of both units in arresting him. The clones then decided to execute Krell due to the danger of the remaining Umbaran forces freeing him and gaining valuable intel. Trooper Dogma was also taken into custody for stubbornly continuing to support Krell even after his treason had been revealed, although he ended up being the one who executed Krell for his treason.

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

Ahsoka Tano was placed on trial for the bombing of a hangar at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and accused of murder and treason against the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic. However, the true culprit, Barriss Offee, was exposed before the court could render its decision. All charges against Tano were dropped, but the young Togruta chose to reject the Jedi Order's offer to rejoin their ranks, as they had not stood by her during the trial.

When clone trooper Tup abruptly killed Jedi Master Tiplar during the Battle of Ringo Vinda, he was taken into custody for this treasonous act. However, Tup's peculiar mental state afterwards, which included not even remembering what he had done during his brief periods of lucidity, led the Jedi and other clones to suspect that Tup might have been brainwashed by the Separatists. Unbeknownst to anyone but the Sith, however, the true cause of Tup's actions was a malfunction in his behavioral modification biochip, which had been secretly implanted in all of the clones to ensure their compliance with carrying out Order 66, the Sith's secret plan to destroy the Jedi. Eventually, the chips' existence was discovered, but the Kaminoan cloners claimed the chips were there to prevent the clones from going insane, and Tup's actions were attributed to a Ringo Vindan parasite that made his chip break down. This story 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 architect of the conspiracy — in order to discredit him after he had attempted 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 fell to the dark side of the Force, for a time becoming Dooku's apprentice. For this act of treason, he faced execution, but was given a chance 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, on his part, argued that the Sith who was behind the war was the true traitor to the Republic. After being saved by Anakin, Sidious declared the members of the Jedi Order enemies of the Republic and traitors in entirety and ordered their execution via the secret command Order 66, which compelled all the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic to turn on their Jedi Generals and kill them via the control chips implanted in their brains.

Order 66 further stipulated that any clone who somehow managed to disobey the command also be executed for treason, which nearly happened to then-Commander Rex after Ahsoka Tano freed him of 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 were both able to escape the chip-controlled clones, however. The crash of the Star Destroyer they had been travelling on killed their pursuers, allowing them to erase their tracks and go into hiding.

The Galactic Empire frequently used execution as punishment for those found guilty of treason. Around five years following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious began to suspect that some officials within the Galactic Empire on Ryloth were committing treason. This suspicion stemmed from a series of surprisingly successful attacks by the Free Ryloth Movement, attacks that seemed impossible without inside assistance. Consequently, he resolved to personally lead a mission to Ryloth to uncover the treachery, accompanied by his Sith apprentice, the formidable Darth Vader. His suspicions proved accurate: 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 an even greater act of treason by 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. He further manipulated events by orchestrating an attack on Moff Mors' vessel by the rebels. Ultimately, Dray's treason cost him his life when Moff Mors discovered the extent of his actions and ordered his execution by a V-wing starfighter, an attack he intentionally did not evade.

Eight years after the Empire's establishment, Count Denetrius Vidian, an Imperial advisor, engaged in treasonous activities that triggered the Gorse Conflict. Driven by a desire to eliminate his rivals in the Imperial court, particularly Baron Lero Danthe, Vidian devised a plan to destroy Gorse's moon, Cynda, along with its thorilide reserves, with the intention of discrediting Danthe. Knowing about the substantial thorilide deposits on Gorse's sunlit side, Vidian aimed to trick Danthe into accepting responsibility for the disappearance of Cynda's reserves. Vidian falsely claimed in a fabricated report that these reserves would last for many years even after the moon's destruction. He 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, exposed 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. After Skelly detonated the Forager, killing both himself and Vidian, the count's treason was concealed, and his death was attributed to a recurrence of his Shilmer's syndrome.

Lieutenant [Gorn](/article/gorn]'s betrayal of the Empire was motivated by the death of the woman he loved at the hands of the Empire. When Imperial agents harassed Yoffar for lacking a license to sell jogan fruit, Yoffar lamented the changes since the Empire's rule over Lothal. Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko deemed these words treasonous and attempted to arrest him. However, [Ezra Bridger](/article/ezra_bridger]'s intervention allowed Yoffar to escape. Later, Bridger encountered residents of Tarkintown, many of whom had been arrested for similar "treasonous" remarks.

During his time at both the Academy for Young Imperials and subsequently the Arkanis Academy, Zare Leonis, an Imperial cadet, secretly engaged in acts of treason against the Galactic Empire. Despite this, when the Empire initiated a crackdown on Lothal and fellow cadets reported rumors of a cadet at the Pretor Flats Academy being taken away by stormtroopers for confessing to treason, Leonis dismissed these claims. He played the part of the ideal cadet, urging his peers not to believe what he called "friend-of-your-brother" stories. Later, Leonis' own treachery was uncovered 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.

Following an Imperial crackdown on Lothal, Minister Maketh Tua, a previously loyal Imperial official, grew increasingly disturbed by the Empire's harsh methods in its search for a group of rebels who had consistently disrupted Imperial operations on the planet. Also fearing for her own safety, she chose to betray the Empire, offering the rebels information about other rebel sympathizers in exchange for their assistance in getting her off the planet. Her attempt to defect failed, as the Empire tracked her actions, and she was killed in an explosion orchestrated by the Empire and overseen by Darth Vader. The rebels were then falsely blamed for her death.

After a rebellious incident involving the theft of a medical frigate, the Galactic Empire traced the act to individuals on Christophsis, arrested numerous members of the planet's government, and executed Christophsis's prime minister for treason. They then "pacified" his city of Tophen as a warning.

Imperial propaganda artist Coba Dunivee was arrested on fabricated treason charges under the orders of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin after creating 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 be an attempt to emulate the colorful artwork of Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian artist aligned with the rebellion. As punishment for attempting to copy the enemy, Dunivee disappeared from all records after her arrest.

During the construction of the DS-1 Death Star Mobile Battle Station, Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit committed treason against the Galactic Empire. He diverted components intended for project, such as laser cannons, to other Imperial initiatives. These included projects led by Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo or Thrawn, like the development of TIE Defenders, or the construction of additional Imperial Star Destroyers. After Thrawn became aware of Savit's treason, he offered him a chance to avoid imprisonment if he assisted the Chiss Ascendancy in destroying the Grysk Hegemony's forces. Savit refused and instead attacked Thrawn's flagship, the Chimaera, initiating a skirmish that Thrawn ultimately won. This victory was due to the efforts of Commodore Karyn Faro in defending the Chimaera and the assistance of Imperial Security Bureau Major Dayja Collerand in arresting the treacherous Grand Admiral. However, Palpatine also understood that Thrawn's allegiance was split between his people and the Empire, putting him in a position where he could easily commit treason.

The Galactic Empire considered any resistance against it as treason, even if it didn't explicitly label it as such. When Senator Mon Mothma publicly condemned the Ghorman Massacre, the Empire accused her of treason. When Princess Leia Organa was captured, Darth Vader showed no sympathy for 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 treasonous acts both within and outside the Empire.

After the significant events of the Battle of Endor, Imperial Governor [Ubrik Adelhard](/article/ubrik_adelhard] dismissed 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 then implemented the Iron Blockade and began persecuting those who spread these "rumors."

When Lady [Carise Sindian](/article/carise_sindian] suggested the creation of a new position called First Senator within the Galactic Senate of the New Republic, intended to replace the role of Chancellor, the idea was immediately denounced as an act of high treason against the fundamental principles of the New Republic.

The defection of stormtrooper FN-2187, who later became known as "Finn," was regarded as a major act of treason by the First Order. Following his desertion, several members of the First Order, including FN-2199 and Kylo Ren, labeled the former stormtrooper a traitor.

The executioner trooper was a specialized First Order stormtrooper whose duty was to execute First Order soldiers who had been convicted of treason.