André Shepherd

André Shepherd
Born Cleveland, Ohio
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army (now deserted)
Years of service 2004 - 2007
Rank Specialist
Unit 601st Aviation Support Battalion
Battles/wars Iraq War

André Shepherd is a U.S. Army Specialist and deserter who applied for asylum in Germany on November 26, 2008. He is the first Iraq War veteran to pursue refugee status in Europe and only the second U.S. soldier to ever apply for refugee status in Germany.

Background

After attending college Shepherd enlisted in the military early in 2004. He claims he was enticed by promises of financial security and international adventure.[1]

Service in Iraq

U.S Army 412 Aviation Support Battalion Specialist (E-4) Deployment: September 2004-February 2005

Shepherd became an Apache helicopter airframe mechanic, hoping to someday qualify up to the role of helicopter pilot. His first unit was deployed to Iraq when he completed his training. Shepherd spent six months on a forward operating base near Tikrit, working 12-hour days to keep the heavily armed Apaches (and their signature Hellfire missiles) in the air.[2]

Asylum seeker in Germany

Shepherd decided that he could no longer support the war in Iraq. He felt he could not apply for conscientious objection because U.S. military regulations state a conscientious objector must have an objection to all war in all form. Shepherd's objection was not in opposition to all wars under any circumstances.[3]

On April 11, 2007 Shepherd went Absent Without Leave (AWOL) from his Katterbach base in Germany.[3]

Shepherd's application for asylum cites a European Union regulation providing refugee status to a soldier who is in danger of being prosecuted if military service "would include crimes or acts" which violate international law. The application refers to the Nuremberg Trials (also see Nuremberg Principles), stating "It is established that a person cannot defend his or her actions by explaining that they had simply been following orders."[4]

Shepherd stated on the grounds of his decision: “We should not be forced to fight an illegal war, nor should we be persecuted for refusing to do so” and “During the past five years we have waged a preemptive, internationally condemned war that was shown to be founded on a series of lies. After learning the truth about the nature of my military’s endeavors, I refuse to continue to be a part of this.”[5]

Shepherd's asylum application in effect asks Germany to define the war in Iraq as a violation of international law, which has led to opposition from some German politicians to the application, over worry that it could harm US–German relations.[6]

Shepherd has been working with the Iraq Veterans Against the War for the past few months and has been a part of Winter Soldier: Europe that took place in Germany on March 14, 2009. Videos of the event where posted to YouTube by the IVAW.[7]

Shepherd currently lives on help from the German refugee detention center, and other assistance from asylum support groups and sympethisers.

The German printed Greenpeace magazine reported in its February 2009 edition about this asylum case.[8]

On April 4, 2011, the German government announced that it had denied Shepherd's asylum application.[9][10]

On April 7, 2011, Sheperd launched an appeal against the rejection.

On January 23, 2013, the administrative court in Munich was supposed to have heard his case. However, the hearing was cancelled. The court sent a request for a preliminary ruling to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg for clarification on applicable [European Union] laws. Shepherd's appeal to the German court has been stayed pending the outcome of the European Court of Justice ruling.[11]

The European Court of Justice scheduled a public hearing regarding Shepherd's asylum application for June 25, 2014.[12]

On November 12, 2014, Advocate General Eleanor V.E. Sharpston of the European Court of Justice advised that Shepherd had the right to claim asylum in the European Union despite the fact that he was a noncombat, helicopter mechanic. She further advised that it was for the German court to decide whether the punishment that Mr. Shepherd would face if convicted of desertion in the U.S. would count as an act of persecution. She also advised that the German court would need to determine whether there was a reasonable likelihood of Shepherd being involved in war crimes if he were deployed to a conflict zone, without needing to establish that fact beyond reasonable doubt.[13][14]

On February 25, 2015, the European Court of Justice ruled in line with Advocate General Sharpston's opinion. The court held that, while it is possible Shepherd could seek asylum in Germany, he would have to prove that he would have been involved in war crimes and that deserting was his only option to avoid committing such crimes. The ECJ left that finding to German courts to decide, as well as whether the prosecution Shepherd could face under the Uniform Code of Military Justice actually amounted to persecution. Shepherd's case now returns to the German court for their decision.[15][16]

Honors

On February 7, 2009 André Shepherd was awarded with the Peace Prize "Peace through Conviction"[17] of the Munich American Peace Committee. The award was presented in the context of protest activities against the Munich Conference for Security Policy.

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Lazare, Sarah. "André Shepherd, Iraq War Resister, Applies for Asylum in Germany". Alternet. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  3. 1 2 https://web.archive.org/20081220061137/http://www.radionetherlands.nl:80/currentaffairs/region/europe/081215-US-soldier-Germany-mc. Archived from the original on December 20, 2008. Retrieved December 16, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE...AWOL US Soldier Seeks Asylum in Germany Over Returning to "Illegal" War in Iraq". Democracy Now!. 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  5. ↑ Archived February 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "Asylum dilemma for US deserter". BBC News. 2009-03-19.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Greenpeace magazine, 02.09, André Sheperd beantragt als erster US-Deserteur in Deutschland politisches Asyl. page 15
  9. ↑ "Kein Asyl für US-Soldat (press release)". Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge. April 4, 2011.
  10. ↑ "US deserter denied asylum in Germany". The Local. April 5, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Deserter’s case sent to EU court for clarification of law". Stars & Stripes. September 10, 2013.
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ "CURIA - Documents". Curia.europa.eu. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  14. ↑ Norman, Laurence (2014-11-11). "Court Opinion Says Ex-U.S. Soldier Could Claim EU Asylum - WSJ". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  15. ↑ "European top court issues preliminary opinion on US soldier seeking asylum in Germany". JURIST. 2004-04-29. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  16. ↑ Croft, Adrian. "U.S. deserter needs Iraq war crimes evidence to be refugee: EU court - Yahoo News". News.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2015-02-27.
  17. ↑ "Prize "Peace through Conviction" for U.S. AWOL soldier". Connection-ev.de. Retrieved 2015-02-27.

External links

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