USArmy Deserter Denied Asylum in Germany - Updated

(Frankfurt, Germany) The German Federal Office of Immigration and Refugees has denied the asylum request of U.S. Army deserter Andre Shepherd.

“The asylum claim was rejected because there is no evidence to suggest that the asylum seeker could have been involved in war crimes or other crimes during another posting to Iraq,” the office said in a statement.

“He could not cite any concrete crimes his unit committed during his first tour. In addition, as a helicopter mechanic, he was not in danger of becoming involved in fighting and therefore in possible crimes,” added the office.

According to Shepherd's lawyer, a forced return to the U.S. is "out of the question," since Shepherd is married to a German woman and possesses a residence permit.

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USArmy Deserter Wants Asylum in Germany
[Previous 11/29/08 post bumped]
(Frankfurt, Germany) A 31-year-old U.S. Army deserter, Andre Shepherd, has applied for asylum in Germany. According to Shepherd's lawyer, Reinhard Marx, "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."

The Apache helicopter mechanic from the 412th Aviation Support Battalion hopes to be granted asylum under a European Union directive that says the usual, "war is bad ... crimes against humanity ... blah,blah, blah." You know the drill.

Shepherd held a news conference Thursday in Frankfurt and claimed the Iraq War is illegal because people are killed with machine guns and Hellfire missiles. Shepherd said he feels guided by the Nuremburg Trials in making his own responsible decisions.

Strangely, he didn't mentioned the fact that he signed a contract.