Canada Court to rule Thursday on ‘refugee’ status of U.S. troops AWOL from Iraq now in Canada

Canada Court to rule Thursday on ‘refugee’ status of U.S. troops AWOL from Iraq now in Canada
Submitted by davidswanson on Thu, 2007-11-15 14:19. Nonviolent Resistance

Expert will comment at Federal Courthouse

SACRAMENTO – A leading international war resister leading a fight to allow hundreds of U.S. military personnel to remain in Canada to avoid going to Iraq will hold a major news conference here Thursday morning – just minutes after the Supreme Court of Canada is due to decide whether U.S. troops will be able to apply for “refugee” status in Canada.

A news briefing to discuss the Canadian decision will be held at 9 a.m. TODAY/THURSDAY outside the
Federal Courthouse (5th & I Streets). The Canadian justices will announce their decision shortly
before the briefing.

Gerry Condon, director of Project Safe Haven and a former Vietnam War resister, is in Sacramento
previewing a new film, “Breaking Ranks,” about the estimated 20,000 U.S. service men and women who
have gone AWOL – many of whom served one tour in Iraq and refused to go back.

A couple hundred AWOL GI’s, from the Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force, are currently living in
Canada. Many served one tour in Iraq and then refused to go back again. Instead, they and their
families have moved to Canada. With the support of many Canadians, they are struggling to create a
home for themselves and a sanctuary for war resisters, said Condon.

Nearly fifty of the resisters have asked Canadian authorities to allow them to remain in Canada as
political refugees. They strongly believe they are doing the right thing by refusing to fight in an
illegal war. They look to UN refugee law, which states soldiers should be considered refugees if
they face persecution for refusing to fight in wars “widely condemned by the international community
as contrary to standards of human conduct.”

more...

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/28735

Supreme Court decision on Hinzman & Hughey expected on
THURSDAY NOV. 15th, 2007
The Supreme Court of Canada is expected to post its decision on whether or not it will hear the appeal by US war resisters Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey THIS THURSDAY at 9:45 am.

The decision will be posted at: http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/index.html (the case number for Jeremy Hinzman is 32112, and for Brandon Hughey it is 32111).

If the decision is negative, join protests in cities across the country. Check the take action page for listings of protest locations.

If the decision is positive, we will celebrate right across the country – but there will still be much work to do to ensure that US soldiers who refuse to fight in Iraq have refuge in Canada. In TORONTO, join us at 7 p.m. at Grossman's Tavern, 379 Spadina Avenue (at Cecil Street) for a 'Leave to Appeal' party.



There's also a rally planned for downtown Ottawa.
I have to work. x(

ed: oops. Forgot the link. www.resisters.ca

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/11/15/hinzman-decision.html


Top court refuses to hear cases of war deserters
Last Updated: Thursday, November 15, 2007 | 10:23 AM ET
CBC News

Canada's top court will not hear the appeals of two American army deserters who sought refugee status.

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the cases of Jeremy Hinzman and Brandon Hughey, who deserted to Canada in 2004 after learning they were to be deployed to Iraq.

Jeremy Hinzman faces a court martial and possible sentence of five years for desertion.Jeremy Hinzman faces a court martial and possible sentence of five years for desertion.

The high court, as usual, gave no reasons for its refusal.

The men both applied for refugee status in 2004.

The Immigration and Refugee Board rejected their claims in 2005. Both the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal refused to review the cases.

Hinzman is believed to be the first American soldier to have fled to Canada because of the Iraq war, but dozens of others may be in the country.

who won't let anti-war activists in. Sigh. All the rest of the war resisters need to ferme les bouches and live quietly.