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TORONTO — A former U.S. soldier seeking asylum in Canada after fleeing criminal charges and, he alleges, torture at the hands of U.S. jailers, pleaded for mercy from Canadian authorities so he can continue treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’m under extraordinary mental distress,” said Matt DeHart, 29, at his detention review hearing in Toronto on Thursday. He said he was receiving counselling from the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture before his re-arrest for a release infraction and asked to return to therapy.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Alleged hacker Matt DeHart asks for mercy at his Canadian detention review hearing. He gets none Back to video

“I’d like to request mercy in this matter.”

He received none. Mr. DeHart was ordered to remain in jail pending his upcoming immigration and refugee proceedings.

Mr. DeHart and his parents claimed refugee asylum last year after fleeing to Canada before his trial in Tennessee on charges of production and transportation of child pornography.

He claims the charges are a ruse by U.S. authorities to use as leverage in a national security probe into a possible Russian spy ring, his activities as part of the Anonymous hacktivist group and his link to a classified document likely destined for WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing organization.