In Sweden, Man Claims to Be AWOL Since 1984 (NYT | 17 June)

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By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
Published: June 17, 2012

... Before that, though, he was an airman who had enlisted straight out of high school and joined the United States Air Force’s 6913th Electronic Security Squadron based in Augsburg, Germany. But on Feb. 10, 1984, distraught over a broken relationship and angered by the foreign policies of President Ronald Reagan, Mr. Hemler, then 21, deserted and hitchhiked to Sweden. Until a month ago his family had presumed he was dead ...

This month, Mr. Hemler, 49, who was born in Cleona, Pa., said he decided it was time to call the family he had left behind, first telling his story to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. He also sent an e-mail to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, which still considers him a fugitive, opening up a host of legal questions that could cloud his future even as he seeks to clear up his past ...

It is not precisely clear how Mr. Hemler eluded detection for so long. He said he was picked up by at least 10 drivers on his way to Sweden, failing to arouse notice even though an international warrant had been issued for his arrest. His desertion was all the more embarrassing to the Air Force because he once had top secret security clearance for work that he said involved a covert American program directed against Russia ...

Sweden has an extradition treaty with the United States, but it does not allow for extradition for military or political offenses ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/world/europe/in-sweden-man-claims-to-be-awol-since-1984.html?_r=1

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1. Wonder if the Statute of Limitations might be over on that

Though that was not a very considerate thing to do to his mother/brother. What a soap opera.

But it does show that Julian's drama is just to get attention. And he'd be accused of a crime (though he has not) and it would not involve political opinion.

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2. I think the military folk figure you're in the military until discharged so if you skip off awol

you're just a fugitive until apprehended

But dunno for sure

[treestar]

3. I see.

Tolling while you are a fugitive - that makes sense.