Jeremy Hinzman

Jeremy Dean Hinzman (born 1979 in Rapid City, South Dakota) is an Iraq War resister who was the first American deserter to seek refugee status in Canada.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division and deserted in 2004 to avoid participating in the Iraq War. "He fled to Canada with his wife and preschool-age son. Now living in Toronto and working as a bike courier, Hinzman faces a court-martial and a possible five-year prison sentence if he returns to the United States. Hinzman said he sought refugee status because he opposed the war in Iraq on moral grounds and argued the U.S. invasion violated international human rights standards."

He was one of the first to have his application for refugee status rejected—a decision he unsuccessfully appealed to the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. His request to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court was rejected in November 2007. At that time, he filed for a pre-removal risk assessment with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, which determines if a denied refugee applicant would be subject to torture, death or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if returned to their country of origin.

Distinct from his application for refugee status, he also filed for permanent residency on " humanitarian and compassionate grounds." Using this approach, he achieved a major step forward on July 6, 2010.

Military service

Jeremy Hinzman voluntarily joined the U.S. Army 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. Amnesty International notes that Hinzman "took reasonable steps to register his conscientious objection through seeking non-combatant status in ugust2002, an application which was rejected pril 2003" This means that he tried for eight months, unsuccessfully, to be officially and ''legally'' referred to as a "conscientious objector".

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 was one of at least 28 soldiers actively seeking refugee status in Canada after deserting the United States military out of opposition to the Iraq conflict. While waiting for various legal decisions to be made on his case, Hinzman and his family continued to live in Toronto, Ontario. Hinzman, along with fellow deserter Brandon Hughey, has become a popular figure in the anti-war movement. He occasionally travels to other Canadian cities to speak on campuses and at peace rallies. Hinzman has also drawn criticism, and during his hearing stated that he has received death threats from American citizens.

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. If he is ultimately deported, he faces court-martial in the U.S. Army. If the Army pursues a general court-martial, he could be sentenced to the punishment of up to five years in prison and a dishonorable discharge for the crime of " desertion with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service."

In a 12 May 2005 media briefing, Amnesty International stated:

Amnesty International considers Mr Jeremy Hinzman to have a genuine conscientious objection to serving as a combatant in the U.S. forces in Iraq. Amnesty International further considers that he took reasonable steps to register his conscientious objection through seeking non-combatant status in 2002, an application which was rejected. Accordingly, should he be imprisoned upon his return to the United States, Amnesty International would consider him to be a prisoner of conscience.

Experience with the Canadian legal and political systems

Hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

Hinzman's first hearing was held from December 6 to December 8, 2004, at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), presided over by Coram Brian P. Goodman. It was the first of similar refugee applications.

His lawyer, Jeffry House, pointed out a precedent set by federal court Judge Arthur Stone in 1995 who approved refugee status for a deserter from Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Stone wrote, "There is a range of military activity which is simply never permissible in that it violates basic international standards. This includes ... non-defensive incursions into foreign territory."

The case of Iraq War resisters became more than a legal issue when Canadian government lawyers entered the situation and presented arguments to the IRB adjudicator just before this precedent-setting hearing. "Government lawyers argued at Hinzman's immigration hearing that the entire question of the war's legality was 'irrelevant.'... The federal immigration officer adjudicating the case rian P. Goodmanagreed. He ruled ovember 12, 2004that Hinzman may not use the legal basis of the Iraq War to justify his...claim."
The claim for refugee status was ultimately rejected. The government at the time was the Liberal Party of Canada led by Prime Minister Paul Martin; and the lawyer representing that government's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Judy Sgro, was Janet Chisholm.

Reporting on Goodman's decision, the BBC
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