Jeremy Hinzman

with his wife, Nga Thi Ngyuen, and son, Liam Liem Nguyen Hinzman.

On March 24, 2005 the Immigration and Refugee Board rejected Hinzman's claim, determining that he was not a conscientious objector and was thus ineligible for refugee status. He and his lawyers subsequently appealed to the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeal and finally, Supreme Court of Canada, all of which failed. If and when his legal options are exhausted, Hinzman will then face the prospect of deportation from Canada and extradition to U.S. military custody. On August 13, 2008, the Canada Border Services Agency ordered Jeremy Hinzman, along with his wife, son, and baby daughter, to leave the country by September 23, 2008. [http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/477611] That order was appealed , and on September 22, 2008 he received a last-minute stay of deportation (see "Life in Canada" below).

He is currently a member of the War Resisters Support Campaign. [http://www.resisters.ca/]

Military service

Hinzman joined the military early in 2001, completing basic combat training and airborne school in Fort Benning, Georgia. Along with his wife, Nga Nguyen, he began attending meetings of the Religious Society of Friends in January 2002. His newfound pacifist beliefs and the birth of his son, Liam, in May 2002, were among the reasons he cited for applying for conscientious objector status in August 2002.

His unit was deployed to take part in the war in Afghanistan later in 2002. Hinzman fulfilled a non-combat role there while his conscientious objector application was being processed. It was ultimately denied, and he then returned to his regular unit, serving as its armorer. When his unit received orders to join in the Iraq War, Hinzman deserted, crossing the border into Canada with his wife and son.

Life in Canada

He filed a refugee claim upon his arrival in Canada, in January 2004. He is one of six soldiers actively seeking refugee status in Canada after deserting the United States military out of opposition to the Iraq conflict.] In order to win the stay of deportation, Hinzman’s lawyer, Alyssa Manning, had to show that her client would suffer “irreparable harm,” if returned to the U.S. as noted in Justice Mosley’s quote (above). Manning also argued that this legal criteria of “irreparable harm” is met in another way: The permanent loss of voting priveleges in the country of one’s residence (which accompanies the felony of desertion in the US) also constitutes “irreparable harm,” Manning argued.

The Toronto Star also reported:

”In June, a non-binding motion passed in the House of Commons called for the deserters to be allowed to stay in Canada permanently as conscientious objectors. Following the court decision, the War Resisters Campaign called again on the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to act on the Commons’ motion and to “cease deporting Iraq war resisters.” The NDP’s Olivia Chow, who introduced the motion, said today: ``Clearly the courts are standing up when Stephen Harper won’t and respecting the will of Parliament.” [] []

Notes

References

* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/03/24/hinzman-050324.html No refugee status in Canada for U.S. soldier] , "CBC News", March 25 2005
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/02/08/deserter-hinzman060208.html Federal Court to review U.S. military deserter case] , "CBC News", February 9 2006
* [http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/mcm.pdf Manual for Courts-Martial United States (2008 Ed.), Article 85—Desertion, p. IV-9]
* [http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/p27_9.pdf Dept. of the Army Pamphlet 27-9, Military Judges Benchbook, Section 3-9-2]

External links

* [http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?docid=471dbace2 UNHCR Database info]
* [http://www.resisters.ca War Resisters Support Campaign] - Toronto-based organization lobbying the federal government in favour of the soldiers
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/03/24/hinzman-050324.html CBC news article on rejection of refugee status]
* [http://operationobjection.org Operation Objection, a pan-Canadian counter-recruitment campaign]
* [http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/content/blogcategory/20/34/ Kyle Snyder Courage to Resist]

Videos of Press Interviews with Hinzman

* Democracy Now (US) interview with Hinzman, August, 2008. (Duration: 10:46) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji22-Ayj2gw]
* Afshin Rattansi interviews Hinzman. Aug 13, 2008. (Duration: 8:45) [http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Afshin+Rattansi+interviews+Jeremy+Hinzman&search_type=]
* Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Television program The Hour host George Stroumboulopoulos interviews Jeremy Hinzman, Sept 16, 2008. (duration 9:13) [http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=858923262]

ee also

* Legality of the Iraq War
* Legitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
* Rationale for the Iraq War
* Views on the 2003 invasion of Iraq
* List of
* List of
* Conscientious Objector
* Desertion
* Nuremberg Defense
* Nuremberg Principle IV
* The Right to Refuse to Kill