EU backs Germany over US Iraq deserter asylum refusal

(LUXEMBOURG) - The EU's top court on Thursday backed a decision by Germany to deny asylum to a former US soldier who deserted on the grounds that the Iraq war was unlawful.

Andre Shepherd, 33, originally from Cleveland, Ohio, walked off his base in southern Germany in 2007 and spent 19 months on the run before applying for asylum.

He had completed a five-month stint as an Apache helicopter mechanic between 2004 and 2005, but refused an order to return to Iraq and take part in what he called war crimes.

Germany turned down the bid by Shepherd, who is married to a German woman, in 2011 but a Munich court referred the matter to EU judges for confirmation of the laws on refugees.

The European Court of Justice said it was unlikely that any war entered into as a result of an international coalition would automatically involve "war crimes".

It said this was "liable to render implausible the hypothesis that a soldier of one of those states could be led to commit such crimes."

The court pointed out that Shepherd "not only enlisted voluntarily in the armed forces at a time when they were already involved in the conflict in Iraq, but also re-enlisted after his first tour in Iraq."

The Luxembourg-based court also rejected his arguments that he could seek asylum in a third country as he risked persecution in his native land.

"It does not appear that the measures incurred by a soldier because of his refusal to perform military service, namely the imposition of a prison sentence or discharge from the army, may be considered... so disproportionate or discriminatory as to amount to acts of persecution," it said.

Germany's government had said that there was no evidence to suggest Shepherd could have been involved in war crimes during another posting to Iraq.

Shepherd has a residence permit because of his marriage but the issue is whether he can get full-time refugee status in Germany, his lawyers have said.