FC: Scientology online critic flees to Canada, seeks asylum

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Wed May 16 2001 - 16:50:34 PDT

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    From: xenuat_private
    Date: 16 May 2001 22:58:41 -0000
    Subject: Henson seeks political asylum in Canada
    
    Today James Harr appeared for Keith Henson in Riverside Superior
    Court in Hemet California.  It was a confused hearing after Judge
    Wallerstein notice that Henson was not present.  The judge at first issued
    a bench warrant with a $25,000 bail and then change it to a no-bail bench
    warrant for Henson, who is seeking political asylum in Canada.
    
    He did not rule on the motion to issue a judgment notwithstanding the
    verdict (http://freehenson.tripod.com/draf-jnov.txt) and after he said he
    would impose sentence  reversed himself and did not rule on a sentence.
    A probation officer made confused statements about the United States
    State Department getting involved. The prosecution recommended 200 days
    in jail and 5 years formal probation, with the defense making no 
    recommendation.
    Defense counsel was not permitted to withdraw.
    
    No further court dates were set.
    
    
    You can contact Keith Henson c/o Gregg Hagglund
    Telephone: 905-844-6216
    2237 Mund's Ave
    Oakville, ON  L6H 3M9
    Canada
    
    Henson and his Canadian counsel will issue a statement. within a few days.
    
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    Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 01:26:21 +0200
    From: Zenon Panoussis <oracleat_private>
    To: xenuat_private
    Subject: Re: Henson seeks political asylum in Canada
    
    xenuat_private skrev:
     >
     > Today James Harr appeared for Keith Henson in Riverside Superior
     > Court in Hemet California.  It was a confused hearing after Judge
     > Wallerstein notice that Henson was not present.  The judge at first issued
     > a bench warrant with a $25,000 bail and then change it to a no-bail bench
     > warrant for Henson, who is seeking political asylum in Canada.
    
    It's not gonna work. Requesting asylum is *the* way to make
    his own presence in Canada difficult for the Canadian state,
    and to let politics take the upper hand. Canada might be a
    kind country with a kind government, but not so kind as to
    jeopardise its relations with the US for Keith's sake by
    declaring the US a country that does not respect human rights,
    which is exactly what a country does when it grants asylum to
    the citizen of another country. The times of the Vietnam
    draft-dodger refugees are over and even then Canada was
    bound more by its own (pre-existing) laws than by its actual
    good will.
    
    What's wrong with just a plain ordinary residence permit
    application, like "I like your country and I want to live
    here"? What's wrong with a business setup? Employment?
    What's wrong with any of all those other residence permit
    possibilities, besides asylum?
    
    Besides, when an asylum application is turned down, the
    refugee is deported to his own country; in Keith's case
    to the US and straight to jail. When an ordinary application
    for residence is turned down, the applicant is not deported
    at all, but is simply requested to leave the country and
    is free to go anywhere he chooses.
    
    Z
    
    
    -- 
    oracle@everywhere: The ephemeral source of the eternal truth...
    
    
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