Thread: U.S. deserter bids to remain in Canada

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U.S. deserter bids to remain in Canada
TERRY WEBER

Globe and Mail Update

Anti-war demonstrators gathered outside a Toronto court Wednesday where it was decision day for a U.S. military deserter who fled his post rather than serve in Iraq is asking to be allowed to remain in this country.

On Wednesday morning, the Federal Court began reviewing the case of former soldier Jeremy Hinzman, 27, who fled the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, N.C., in January, 2004, to avoid service in Iraq and sought refuge in Toronto with his wife and son.

Outside the courthouse, protesters held up signs and banners declaring: 'Let war resisters stay.'

The court — which is also examining the case of a second deserter, Brandon Hughey — is to determine whether a decision by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board last mark to deny Mr. Hinzman political asylum should stand.

Mr. Hinzman is the first U.S. service member to seek asylum formally in Canada because of his opposition to the war in Iraq.

He requested asylum because of the fear of persecution in the United States for his refusal to take part in the controversial war, saying he would be committing a crime if he killed anyone during the course of the conflict because the war is illegal.

The refugee board, in turning down his request, refused to hear evidence as to the illegality of the war.

The case has drawn international attention and is being closely watched by people on both sides of the argument for the implications a ruling would hold for others in a similar situation.

Some estimates have suggested that as many as 200 U.S. military personnel are secretly in Canada to avoid the war. About 20 are now trying to gain refugee status.

Mr. Hinzman, who now works as a bike courier, faces a court-martial and possible jail time if sent home.

Speaking with CBC ahead of Wednesday's hearing, Mr. Hinzman said he saw changes in himself during the course of his service with the U.S. military.

"I felt I was losing myself, what makes me human and that I was just turning into some sort of, sort of robot," he said.

High-profile human-rights groups Amnesty International and the University of Toronto-based International Human Rights Clinic have also taken up Mr. Hinzman's cause and are seeking intervenor status in the case.

"Amnesty International considers that there is a significant risk that he would be imprisoned for one to five years for having left the armed forces without authorization, despite the fact that he had taken reasonable steps to obtain exemption from combatant duties on the grounds of his conscientious objection," Amnesty International said in a statement.

"If he is forcibly returned and imprisoned, Amnesty International would adopt him as a prisoner of conscience."

At Wednesday's hearing, Mr. Hinzman's lawyer Jeffry House is expected to argue that the immigration board's erred by refusing to hear evidence about the legality of the war in Iraq.

The board also said Mr. Hinzman was not a conscientious objector because, despite his opposition to the war in Iraq, he was not a pacifist. As well, the panel argued that the United States is a democratic country with its own legal system and prosecution for his actions cannot be equated with persecution.

Mr. House, who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam, has argued that the board's logic was flawed.

With reports from Canadian Press

[url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_4451517,00.html]

Deserter doesn't qualify for asylum
February 9, 2006

In a case closely watched on both sides of the border, Canada's Federal Court this week took up the appeal of Jeremy Hinzman, 27, a U.S. Army deserter who is seeking political asylum.

If Hinzman succeeds, perhaps as many as 200 deserters living secretly in Canada will do likewise, and other unhappy soldiers may then be tempted to follow them north.

But his petition for asylum was rejected last March by Canada's Immigration Review Board, which found that Hinzman did not meet either of the two broad criteria for refugee status:

• The refugees are unwilling to return to their homeland because of "a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership in a particular social group."

• Or their return "would subject them to the possibility of torture, risk to life, or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment."

None of these applies to Hinzman. He would face a jail sentence, loss of pay and benefits, and the stigma of a dishonorable discharge.

And of course this volunteer - unlike many draftees in the Vietnam War - knew this when he abandoned his 82nd Airborne unit rather than go to Iraq.