Canadian Court Orders U.S. Army Deserter Expelled

January 8, 2009 6:21 a.m. EST

Ottawa, Canada (AHN) - A court in Canada has ordered the deportation of an American servicewoman who deserted the military in 2007 and has sought asylum in Canada to avoid redeployment in the war-torn Iraq.

Kimberly Rivera, a mother of three, is the first woman U.S. soldier to have asked for asylum in Ottawa for refusing to serve in the war in Iraq.

An estimated 200 American military deserters are believed to have fled to Canada, on various grounds. Many are believed to be living incognito.

Rivera has sought to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds, but her appeal was rejected by the Canadian government. She and her family were given until Jan. 31 this year to leave Canada, unless they could secure an order reversing the court's order.

Rivera had been deployed first in Iraq in 2006, but deserted in 2007 after she refused to be redeployed in Baghdad.

She is facing up to five years imprisonment once she lands on U.S. soil.

Another U.S. military deserter is also seeking to remain in Canada.

Former U.S. national guardsmen, Corey Glass, who also deserted the army on grounds of refusal to be deployed in Iraq, is facing deportation from the Canadian government.

Glass was initially ordered to leave the country by June 2008, but his lawyer was able to extend the deadline after a court ruled in favor of his appeal.