little flee
Registered Users (C)
I need an opinion on a political asylum. I have found an experienced immigration lawyer that I would like to represent me before I file for a political asylum, but I just found him and called to check for fees, so I haven't actually hired him yet, but it's someone who I'd like to represent me. But before I even call him to ask him for legal representation, I am just curious to see what any of you would think of this.
I am from former Yugoslavia, and was evacuated to the US following injury I sustained during the war there as a child. I was offered a refuge status, but I rejected it and came back straight into the war again. I was very young (11yrs old), all on my own in the US, so I was eager to come back to my family.
Now I am back in the States and would like to file for political asylum. I am basing this on the fact that the man who shot me during the war has in mean time been convicted of war crimes in former Yugoslavia (Croatia to be exact) for the crime he committed before shooting me. When he shot me, he was in jail for a week, but due to the fact that there were no conscripts who were willing to fight the ridiculous war, he was "hired" to fight now in Bosnia, and later Kosovo. For his 'services' to Serbia, he was awarded Serbian citizenship, and as such can not be extradited (Serbian constitution protects him in that sense) to Croatia to serve his sentence, nor any other place. He is still under investigation for multiple war crimes in Bosnia as well. While I lived in Serbia he used to harass me, and now that statute of limitations is about to expire in my legal proceedings against him, I am afraid that any cooperation I do undertake with Croatian/Bosnian authorities, will leave me unprotected. Needless, to say I was never protected by police or the law from him to begin with, as he has never been in jail for what he did to me (besides that one week), and once statute of limitation runs out, I can never go after him again for what he did to me (double jeopardy). Serbia is somewhat still in legal ruins when it come to its legal system, and since that system has failed me on so many levels before I do not trust it when it tells me that it will protect me from him in any way (to remind - he is still freely out and about, conducting a normal life, except he can't leave Serbia due to int'l warrant).
Do I have basis to apply for political asylum, and if I do, will the fact that I have rejected it once change anything?
Thank you,
little flee
I am from former Yugoslavia, and was evacuated to the US following injury I sustained during the war there as a child. I was offered a refuge status, but I rejected it and came back straight into the war again. I was very young (11yrs old), all on my own in the US, so I was eager to come back to my family.
Now I am back in the States and would like to file for political asylum. I am basing this on the fact that the man who shot me during the war has in mean time been convicted of war crimes in former Yugoslavia (Croatia to be exact) for the crime he committed before shooting me. When he shot me, he was in jail for a week, but due to the fact that there were no conscripts who were willing to fight the ridiculous war, he was "hired" to fight now in Bosnia, and later Kosovo. For his 'services' to Serbia, he was awarded Serbian citizenship, and as such can not be extradited (Serbian constitution protects him in that sense) to Croatia to serve his sentence, nor any other place. He is still under investigation for multiple war crimes in Bosnia as well. While I lived in Serbia he used to harass me, and now that statute of limitations is about to expire in my legal proceedings against him, I am afraid that any cooperation I do undertake with Croatian/Bosnian authorities, will leave me unprotected. Needless, to say I was never protected by police or the law from him to begin with, as he has never been in jail for what he did to me (besides that one week), and once statute of limitation runs out, I can never go after him again for what he did to me (double jeopardy). Serbia is somewhat still in legal ruins when it come to its legal system, and since that system has failed me on so many levels before I do not trust it when it tells me that it will protect me from him in any way (to remind - he is still freely out and about, conducting a normal life, except he can't leave Serbia due to int'l warrant).
Do I have basis to apply for political asylum, and if I do, will the fact that I have rejected it once change anything?
Thank you,
little flee