American Soldier Applies for Asylum in Germany

On November 26, 2008, Andre Shepherd, an American soldier who has been hiding in Germany since he deserted from his unit a year and a half ago, filed an application to the German authorities to grant him asylum status under German law. Shepherd enlisted in the United States Military in January 2004 and was later deployed to Iraq with the 412th Aviation Support Battalion, stationed in Katterbach, Germany. He served in Iraq from September 2004 to February 2005, repairing and maintaining AH-64 Apache Helicopters for combat and security operations in Iraq. After having returned to Germany, Shepherd left his unit in June of 2007 and is since then absent without leave. Shepherd’s statement for the asylum request to German authorities is that as a matter of conscience he cannot be deployed to Iraq again in support of what he calls an illegal war with indiscriminate killing of civilians in large numbers. Shepherd’s asylum request is the first case of an American soldier seeking refuge in Germany for desertion. It presents a delicate political issue for the German government regarding the expected thaw in relations between the two countries with respect to the incoming Obama Administration...[more]