Canada’s federal court ruled on Monday that a US Army deserter can be deported to the US, rejecting his request for a stay to the order.
Justice Anne Mactavish said that Robin Long did not provide clear and convincing evidence that he would suffer irreparable harm if he were returned to the US.
Long, 25, fled to Canada in 2005 to avoid serving in Iraq.
Officials said Long would probably be sent back to the US yesterday, following Monday’s decision.
Long said he sought refuge in Canada because the US Army wanted him to participate in what he calls an “illegal war of aggression in Iraq.”
Mactavish noted that although the percentage of US military deserters prosecuted for desertion has increased since 2002, the vast majority have not been prosecuted let alone jailed for desertion.
Last week, Canada’s federal court granted US National Guardsman Sergeant Corey Glass, 25, a stay to his deportation order while the court decides whether to hear his case. Glass refused redeployment to Iraq.
The two are among some 200 American deserters believed to be in Canada in an effort to avoid service in Iraq.
So far, Canadian immigration officials and the courts have rejected efforts to grant them refugee status.
During the Vietnam War, up to 90,000 Americans, most of them trying to avoid the military draft, successfully sought refuge in Canada.
The majority of them came home after the US granted amnesty in the late 1970s.
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