Comments

You have commented 340 times on Rantburg.

Your Name

Your e-mail (optional)

Website (optional)

	My Original Nic Pic-a-Nic Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Foto

Submit your comments on this article

Great White North

Canadian court to review U.S. war dodger's failed claim for asylum

2005-11-11

Thanks, Canada. Glad to know you have jurisdiction over the US military. Bah.

A war dodger from the United States has won the chance to convince a Federal Court judge that Canada was wrong to turn down his claim for refugee status in a politically sensitive case that's being watched closely in both countries. Jeremy Hinzman, who maintains that fighting in Iraq would have amounted to an atrocity because he considers the war an illegal one, is "very much encouraged" the Federal Court is willing to hear a judicial review of his case, said his lawyer, Jeffry House. "There's nothing ridiculous about our appeal," House said Friday in an interview. "It has substance to it."

Hinzman, 27, deserted his Airborne regiment in January 2004, just days before being deployed to Iraq, and faces a court-martial and possible jail time if he's sent home. He was not immediately available for comment Friday. Lee Zaslofsky of the War Resisters Support Campaign called the decision a "real breakthrough" in the efforts of U.S. resisters to remain in Canada. "This is very good - it will have an impact on all the other cases," Zaslofsky said. "What it shows is that people in authority in Canada are taking very seriously what's going on with these war resisters."

The Immigration and Refugee Board ruled in March that Hinzman was not a so-called conscientious objector to the war in Iraq and had not shown that he would face persecution in the U.S. if forced to return. In denying Hinzman's claim, the board's adjudicator ruled that the legal status of the war in Iraq had no bearing on the case. Hinzman hopes to convince the court that the adjudicator's decision not to weigh the legality of the war amounted to an error in law. Justice Sean Harrington is scheduled to hear Hinzman's arguments Feb. 7 in Toronto.

During his March asylum hearing, Hinzman argued he should not have to face any jail time for refusing to commit what he considered to be war crimes by taking part in a foreign invasion that had no international sanction. A ~~discredited~~ former U.S. marine who testified on his behalf told the hearing that soldiers in Iraq routinely violated international law by killing unarmed women, children and other Iraqi civilians. If the court sides with Hinzman, it will likely refer the case back to a different refugee board tribunal for further consideration, but with specific instructions on dealing with the contested issues, principally the legality of the war in Iraq, House said. "The best possible outcome is that we get a full hearing in which all our arguments are considered," he said.

Posted by:Seafarious

00:00