US Military Deserter Applies For Asylum In Germany - Lawyer
Andre Shepherd, who served in Iraq between September 2004 and February 2005 where his job was maintaining Apache military helicopters, refused to return there last year from his base in Germany.
The 31-year-old deserted because "he does not want to take part in the American war in Iraq, a war that does not conform with international law and because he does not want to be implicated in war crimes," his lawyer Reinhard Marx told AFP.
The lawyer wants to apply for asylum under a European Union directive from April 2004 stipulating that asylum can be granted if the applicant has to take part in a conflict and commit a "crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against humanity," Marx said.
If the application is unsuccessful Shepherd faces extradition and imprisonment in the U.S., the lawyer added.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 28, 2008 12:09 ET (17:09 GMT)
Publié le 28 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones
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