 | This article needs to be updated. (August 2019) |
Jeremy Hinzman | |
|---|---|
 Jeremy Hinzman at a 2008 speaking engagement. | |
| Born | Jeremy Dean Hinzman 1979 (age 44–45) Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S. |
| Known for | Resisting Iraq War |
| Spouse | Nga Thi Nguyen |
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.[1]
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."[2]
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.[3]
Distinct from his application for refugee status, he also filed for permanent residency on "humanitarian and compassionate grounds."[1] Using this approach, he achieved a major step forward on July 6, 2010.
- ^ a b Kyonka, Nick (2008-08-13). "U.S. deserter to be deported". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ "Top court refuses to hear cases of U.S. deserters". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News. 2007-11-15. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ In an indirect reference to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the word used by the Toronto Star is "prosecution." But, for purposes of clarity and precision, this has been replaced with a quote taken directly from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, paragraph 97(b), which uses the phrase, "a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment." [1][permanent dead link]