Canada gives US army deserter new asylum appeal
TTAWA (AFP) — A Canadian court on Friday ruled that an immigration board had erred in refusing political asylum to a US man who sought to avoid military service in Iraq, and ordered a new hearing.
Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board in November 2006 rejected an asylum request by Joshua Adam Key, his wife and their four children, saying that their situation was not severe enough to justify his desertion from the US army.
“The board was of the view that unless the events Mr. Key described were sufficiently egregious as to constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity, they could not, for the purpose of obtaining refugee protection, justify his desertion from the United States Army,” it said at the time.
