MONTREAL (AFP) — The Canadian government has ordered the expulsion of a US soldier and his family after he deserted to Canada and sought refugee status for opposing the war in Iraq, a support network said Wednesday.
"US Iraq war resister Jeremy Hinzman was told today that his family's application to stay in Canada has been rejected," the War Resisters Support Campaign said in a statement.
The group described Hinzman, his wife Nga Nguyen and their son as the first Iraq war resisters to seek sanctuary in Canada. The parents have since had a second child, born in Toronto.
Another US soldier who sought refugee status for opposing the war in Iraq was extradited to the United States on July 15 after his asylum request was rejected by Canadian authorities. He was the first US soldier extradited since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Hinzman served one tour in Afghanistan in a non-combat role, but when his unit, the 82nd Airborne Division, was ordered to Iraq he fled to Canada with his family, according to the support group.
"Sending Jeremy and his family back to the US, where he would face harsh punishment, would be cruel," said Lee Zaslofsky of the War Resisters Support Campaign.
A spokesman for Canada's ministry of citizenship and immigration declined to comment on the case, citing privacy laws.
About 200 present-day US military deserters live in Canada, several of them in secret. Many have sought refugee status, albeit unsuccessfully.
Canada received tens of thousands of US deserters during the Vietnam war.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
