Treason / Legends Treason was the crime of acting against a legitimately recognized government or an official of that government . The definition of treason varied based on the type of government . In an Imperial or dictatorial government , even merely speaking against the government or its policies could be considered treasonous behavior . Traitor was the formal term for an individual that had committed treason . Though some governments treated all treason equally , others made a distinction between it and high treason , very serious treason that was almost always punished by death , even in non - Imperial governments . Such treason typically involved a direct betrayal or attack on a state official . In addition , at least in the case of the Empire , the charge of high treason generally necessitates that the one charged with the crime ends up punished in person by the state official in question , due to the seriousness of the charge . In certain cases , a distinction was made between the crime of treason and that of sedition , the act of simply speaking against the established order , but not actually acting . In many cases , however , even simply speaking against the established government was described as " treason . " History . Under the Galactic Republic . As a group of Jedi Masters discussed the possible forcible removal of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from office , Obi - Wan Kenobi stated that such an action was treason and Mace Windu replied that he wasn ' t afraid of words and that the " real " treason would be failure to act . When Obi - Wan Kenobi told Anakin Skywalker that the Jedi High Council agreed to his appointment as Palpatine ' s personal representative because they wanted him to spy on him , Skywalker described such an action as both a violation of the Jedi Code and treason , but Kenobi said it was not treason and might be the only way to save the Galactic Republic . Later , Palpatine told Skywalker he was concerned the Jedi Order was plotting treason against him and to overthrow the government . Then , when trying to convince him to join the dark side of the Force , he told him " " Turn your back on treason . " " When the Jedi arrived to arrest him , he declared " " It ' s treason , then , " " before engaging them in a lightsaber duel . Palpatine , while attempting to attack Mace Windu with Force lightning , then tried to claim that the Jedi Master was a traitor to the then - recently arrived Skywalker , while Windu likewise shot back that the Supreme Chancellor was in fact the actual traitor . In 20 BBY , several members of the Jedi High Council believed that Padawan Ahsoka Tano had committed sedition against the Republic due to her being implicated in a terrorist bombing of the Jedi Temple , as well as the murder of several clones in an escape from the military base she was being held in , and expelled the young Togruta from the Jedi Order so she could be tried at a Republic military court . She very nearly avoided a conviction and possible death sentence before the real perpetrator was revealed . All charges against Tano , including sedition , were dropped , but the Council ' s lack of faith in her shook Tano to the core , and she left the Temple after refusing reinstatement . Under the Galactic Empire . Although not always directly referred to as such , the Galactic Empire considered the very existence of the Rebel Alliance treason against it and vigorously pursued anyone involved with it as traitors . In addition , the Senate , due to holding Senators sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance and / or possessing anti - Imperial sentiments was noted to have been " dangerously close " to treason via their puffery . Raygar was an archaeologist who accidentally fired at Galactic Emperor Palpatine ' s personal shuttle . The unusual step was taken of charging him with high treason , of which he was convicted . Palpatine then carried out his punishment personally . Journalists were often targeted by the Galactic Empire for committing treason for writing articles unfavorable to the Empire or its policies . Some of these later became members of the Erased . The penalty for treason under the Empire was often death . In 5 ABY , following the formation of the New Republic , Sate Pestage attempted to defect from the Galactic Empire and became wanted by them for high treason . He was assassinated for his treason . Behind the scenes . Much of the speech prosecuted by the Galactic Empire as " treason " is , in fact , what is traditionally considered by real - life courts as " sedition . " The term " sedition " does appear with the Expanded Universe and the Galactic Empire , in fact , has a branch named Sedition , but the term appears far less frequently than " treason . "