Joshua Key

Joshua "Josh" Key is a United States Army deserter. Key fled while on leave from the Iraq War, and is a current resident of Canada. Along with Lawrence Hill, he is the co-author of The Deserter's Tale, a book chronicling his service in Iraq and his subsequent departure from military life.

Personal life Joshua Key was born in 1978 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, which is located just outside Oklahoma City.

At age 20, he married Brandi Johnston, with whom he has four children. She initially joined him in moving to Canada,

Military service and desertion In 2002, Key enlisted in the United States Army. He attended basic training and was stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado. He was deployed to the Middle East in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

"Key served as a combat engineer for eight months in Iraq 2003." "Mr. Key had told the IRB that while in Iraq with a unit of combat engineers, he took part in at least 200 raids on civilian homes." When he returned home on leave in November 2003, he deserted the Army.

Life in Canada Key fled to Toronto, Ontario, Canada on March 8, 2005, and 3 days later made a claim for asylum as a conscientious objector seeking refugee status.

The IRB was ordered to take another look at Key's failed bid for asylum in an unprecedented court ruling that could affect scores of other U.S. soldiers, now in Canada, who have refused to fight in Iraq. In the decision the Federal Court found the IRB made mistakes in turning down Joshua Key's claim for asylum.

While the earlier board deemed him credible, it declined his claim for refugee status on the grounds he was not required to systematically commit war crimes. The earlier board rulings deemed that it was not important enough that he had to violate the Geneva Conventions. Federal Court Justice Robert Barnes disagreed with that earlier analysis. "Officially condoned military misconduct falling well short of a war crime may support a claim to refugee protection," Barnes wrote. Military action that "systematically degrades, abuses or humiliates" either combatants or non-combatants could provide such support, he said.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's July 4, 2008 coverage of the story said that there is now a possibility that he "could qualify as a refugee."

Second IRB hearing: June 3, 2009 On June 3, 2009, Joshua Key had a new hearing in front of the IRB. Ken Atkinson, He was represented by attorney Alyssa Manning.

Negative IRB decision: July 30, 2010 On July 30, 2010, Ken Atkinson of the IRB made a decision which rejected granting refugee status to Key. Atkinson stated, "I find that the claimant is neither a . . . refugee nor a person in need of protection."

Atkinson went on to say, "I find that there is adequate state protection in the USA and the claimant has not taken all reasonable steps to pursue the available state protection."

In 2016, Key was granted temporary permission to work and receive government health care while his case continues to be reviewed.