We support Okie War Resister Joshua Key
- by: Oklahoma Center for Conscience, Joy Mennonite Church
- recipient: Canadian Immigration Minister Kenney, Oklahoma Governor
He is one of our own and we are proud of him for taking his stand for the cause of peace and the common-sense Oklahoma values of justice and that you don't attack those who have done nothing to hurt you.
We ask the officials in Canada allow him to remain in Canada. We also ask Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to issue a statement of support for Joshua Key.
Background:
Joshua Key grew up in a working class household in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After graduating from high school he worked a series of low-wage jobs for the next few years.
In 2002, not yet 24 but already married and the father of two , Key enlisted. He joined because he saw the U.S. army and its promised benefits -- from free health care to career training -- as the ticket to a better life for his young family. He says his recruiting officer promised he'd never be deployed abroad, but a year later he was in Iraq.
After training, he was stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado. He was deployed to the Middle East in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. While in Iraq he participated in at least 70 raids on civilian homes. He also encountered fellow soldiers who would desecrate the corpses of Iraqi dead and who would regularly assault civilians during home raids and other encounters with the populace. In his book, The Deserter's Tale, he tells in detail of the systematic vandalism of Iraqi homes during house raids, murder of an Iraqi child, and sexual abuse of innocent women, by American Soldiers and officers.
Upon his return on leave in November 2003, Key realized that he could not return to Iraq due to his issues of conscience and his severe PTSD. He and his family fled to Philadelphia where they hid for a significant amount of time before going to Canada. While in Canada, Key made a claim for asylum as a conscientious objector seeking refugee status.
The Legal Struggle in Canada:
In the last few years, Joshua Key has been engaged in a struggle of epic proportions to be able to remain in Canada. He initially was given a negative decision in his first refugee hearing, but later was able to successfully appeal to the Federal Court (Canada)1 The Court has since ordered that Joshua Key's case be reconsidered on its merits by a differently constituted panel of the IRB.
In his decision last July, Federal Court Judge The Honourable Robert L. Barnes stated that,
"%u2026 officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may support a claim to refugee protection. Indeed, the authorities indicate that military action which systematically degrades, abuses or humiliates either combatants or non-combatants is capable of supporting a refugee claim where that is the proven reason for refusing to serve. I have, therefore, concluded that the Board erred by imposing a too restrictive legal standard upon Mr. Key."2
Today in Toronto, Joshua Key is having his new refugee board hearing.
Who we are:
This statement is issued by the Oklahoma Center for Conscience. OCC was founded in 2004 and is sponsored by Joy Mennonite Church, with support from Veterans for Peace of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Catholic Peace Fellowship, Oklahoma City Religious Society of Friends, and Pax Cristi-Tulsa. OCC is a non-governmental organization funded by community donations and private grants.
For more information contact:
Oklahoma Center for Conscience
James M. Branum, 405-476-5620, girightslawyer@gmail.com
Serena Guay, 405-236-4938 (ext-2), info@centerforconscience.org
1%u201CThe Federal Court%u201D is a Canadian trial court that hears cases arising under certain areas of federal law. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction.
2Information in this statement was pulled from The Deserter's Tale by Joshua Key & Lawrence Hill, Wikipedia %u201CJosh Key,%u201D and from the War Resisters Support Campaign (www.resisters.ca)
He is one of our own and we are proud of him for taking his stand for the cause of peace and the common-sense Oklahoma values of justice and that you don't attack those who have done nothing to hurt you.
We ask the officials in Canada allow him to remain in Canada. We also ask Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to issue a statement of support for Joshua Key.
Background:
Joshua Key grew up in a working class household in Guthrie, Oklahoma. After graduating from high school he worked a series of low-wage jobs for the next few years.
In 2002, not yet 24 but already married and the father of two , Key enlisted. He joined because he saw the U.S. army and its promised benefits -- from free health care to career training -- as the ticket to a better life for his young family. He says his recruiting officer promised he'd never be deployed abroad, but a year later he was in Iraq.
After training, he was stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado. He was deployed to the Middle East in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. While in Iraq he participated in at least 70 raids on civilian homes. He also encountered fellow soldiers who would desecrate the corpses of Iraqi dead and who would regularly assault civilians during home raids and other encounters with the populace. In his book, The Deserter's Tale, he tells in detail of the systematic vandalism of Iraqi homes during house raids, murder of an Iraqi child, and sexual abuse of innocent women, by American Soldiers and officers.
Upon his return on leave in November 2003, Key realized that he could not return to Iraq due to his issues of conscience and his severe PTSD. He and his family fled to Philadelphia where they hid for a significant amount of time before going to Canada. While in Canada, Key made a claim for asylum as a conscientious objector seeking refugee status.
The Legal Struggle in Canada:
In the last few years, Joshua Key has been engaged in a struggle of epic proportions to be able to remain in Canada. He initially was given a negative decision in his first refugee hearing, but later was able to successfully appeal to the Federal Court (Canada)1 The Court has since ordered that Joshua Key's case be reconsidered on its merits by a differently constituted panel of the IRB.
In his decision last July, Federal Court Judge The Honourable Robert L. Barnes stated that,
"%u2026 officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may support a claim to refugee protection. Indeed, the authorities indicate that military action which systematically degrades, abuses or humiliates either combatants or non-combatants is capable of supporting a refugee claim where that is the proven reason for refusing to serve. I have, therefore, concluded that the Board erred by imposing a too restrictive legal standard upon Mr. Key."2
Today in Toronto, Joshua Key is having his new refugee board hearing.
Who we are:
This statement is issued by the Oklahoma Center for Conscience. OCC was founded in 2004 and is sponsored by Joy Mennonite Church, with support from Veterans for Peace of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Catholic Peace Fellowship, Oklahoma City Religious Society of Friends, and Pax Cristi-Tulsa. OCC is a non-governmental organization funded by community donations and private grants.
For more information contact:
Oklahoma Center for Conscience
James M. Branum, 405-476-5620, girightslawyer@gmail.com
Serena Guay, 405-236-4938 (ext-2), info@centerforconscience.org
1%u201CThe Federal Court%u201D is a Canadian trial court that hears cases arising under certain areas of federal law. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction.
2Information in this statement was pulled from The Deserter's Tale by Joshua Key & Lawrence Hill, Wikipedia %u201CJosh Key,%u201D and from the War Resisters Support Campaign (www.resisters.ca)
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