http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/03/apAWOLsoldier070301/AWOL soldier briefly detained in Canada
The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Mar 1, 2007 6:21:51 EST
NELSON, British Columbia — An Army soldier who fled to Canada rather than return to Iraq was briefly detained and questioned in British Columbia, border security officials said Wednesday.
Police in the city of Nelson detained Kyle Snyder, 23, on Friday on a detention order issued by the Canadian Border Services Agency.
“We felt he might be inadmissible to Canada,” said agency spokeswoman Janis Fergusson. “He was interviewed and released.”
Snyder, of Colorado Springs, Colo., said in a statement that police told him he would be deported. But his attorney, Daniel McLeod of Vancouver, said in a statement that being AWOL from another country’s military is not an extraditable offense in Canada.
Vancouver lawyer Ian Donaldson said the issue is complicated. He said for Snyder to be extradited to the U.S., it would have to be proved that his conduct is considered criminal in both countries.
Snyder said he was ordered to appear for an immigration hearing next month. However, Canada Immigration and Refugee Board spokeswoman Melissa Anderson said the case has not been referred to the board.
Snyder, a former combat engineer, originally went AWOL from the Army and fled to Canada in April 2005 while on leave.
He returned to the military last November after his lawyer said he had reached a deal to have Snyder processed back into the Army at Fort Knox, Ky., and be discharged without a court-martial, but Snyder fled again almost immediately. At the time, Snyder’s attorney, James Fennerty of Chicago, said the Army wanted to send Snyder back to his original unit at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., where commanders would determine his future.
A phone call to an official at Fort Leonard Wood was not immediately returned.
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