Former U.S. soldiers pledge to fight for refugee status in Canada

Published: 2005-03-30

TORONTO (CNS) -- Former U.S. soldiers who refuse to fight in Iraq vowed to fight on in Canada's courts after the Immigration and Refugee Board rejected the first of seven pending refugee applications by American military personnel. The Canadian board ruled that Jeremy Hinzman, 26, an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper who served in Afghanistan, would not face persecution or unjust punishment if he returned to the United States. Hinzman is appealing the decision to Federal Court. Hinzman's lawyer, Jeff House, said the board made several errors in its judgment, chiefly its decision not to hear arguments on the legality of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. "You can't say that the legality of a war is irrelevant. That's ludicrous," Hinzman said. Hinzman applied for conscientious objector status while serving in Afghanistan, but was denied because he said he would fight in a defensive war. The ex-paratrooper, now a bicycle courier in Toronto, said participating in an illegal war rife with human rights abuses is precisely what his conscience objects to.

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