The Mexican government on Wednesday agreed to offer assistance to a Mexican-born U.S. army medic, who faces charges of desertion and missing a troop movement, Mexico's Foreign Ministry said.

Agustin Aguayo, 35, who was born in Mexico but holds dual citizenship, refused to go back to Iraq and could face up to seven years in prison when his court-martial opens at a U.S. military base in Germany.

The ministry said in a press statement that international law prevents one country from exercising diplomatic protection for a citizen against another country of which the person in question is also a citizen.

However, given Aguayo's "nationality of origin and the fact that his relatives are Mexican, the ministry has ordered the Mexican Embassy in Germany to offer consular assistance."

On Monday, Agustin's mother Susana Aguayo requested the Mexican government appoint a lawyer for her son. Mexico routinely provides consular assistance, sometimes involving lawyers, to citizens jailed abroad.

Source: Xinhua