Supreme Court rules that Harper need not try to repatriate Khadr.

Although the Court did not order Harper to ask for the repatriation of Khadr it did note that Khadr's human rights were violated by Canadian officials. Of course the Harper government will just ignore this part of the ruling. No officials will suffer any penalties. Canada is the only country not to try to repatriate its citizens from Guantanamo. Khadr will be left to be tried by a US military tribunal most likely even though he should have been treated as a child soldier.


Khadr repatriation overturned by top court
By Emily Chung, CBC News
Omar Khadr shown at a U.S. military hearing in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in January 2009. (Canadian Press) The Supreme Court of Canada has overturned lower-court orders that the federal government must try to repatriate Toronto-born Omar Khadr from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay.

However, the top court agreed Canadian officials violated Khadr's human rights, and that he continues to be threatened by the effect of those violations.

In a unanimous decision released Friday, the court declared that Canadian officials breached Khadr's right to life, liberty and security of the person under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

However, it concluded that ordering the government to ask the U.S. for Khadr's repatriation to stop the continuing violation of his rights would interfere with the government's jurisdiction over foreign relations. Therefore, it chose not to issue the order, even though it had the authority to do so.

"We … leave it to the government to decide how best to respond to this judgment in light of current information, its responsibility for foreign affairs and in conformity with the charter," the ruling said.

Khadr, 23, has been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since he was arrested in Afghanistan at age 15, accused of throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier. He is scheduled to be tried in July by a U.S. military court on charges of murder, conspiracy and support of terrorism.

Charter rights violated
Details of the Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court ruled that Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was breached in Omar Khadr's case, as Canadian officials contributed to the violation of his rights to life, liberty and security of the person.

It noted that CSIS officials obtained evidence from Khadr under "oppressive circumstances" during interrogations at Guantanamo Bay in 2003 and then shared that evidence with U.S. officials. The ruling said the interrogation "offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects," as:

Khadr was a minor and had been denied adult counsel.
He had been repeatedly deprived of sleep over a three-week period using a technique designed to make detainees more compliant.
The interrogation was designed to elicit statements about "the most serious criminal charges."
The information was to be shared with U.S. prosecutors.
The court agreed that Khadr's rights continue to be violated given the role of the information in his upcoming trial. It also concluded that bringing Khadr back to Canada would stop the violation of his rights by preventing him from facing trial.

However, it said ordering the government to demand Khadr's repatriation was not a suitable remedy for the violation of his rights as:

It gives too little weight to the government's constitutional responsibility to make decisions on matters of foreign affairs in the context of complex circumstances and Canada's national interest.
The court lacks the government's knowledge of foreign relations. "We do not know what negotiations may have taken place or will take place between the U.S. and Canadian governments over the fate of Mr. Khadr.
Therefore, the court felt it was not appropriate to give direction to the government about diplomatic steps to address the rights breaches.
Khadr's lawyers had asked for a judicial review of the government's decision not to request his repatriation. They argued that returning him to Canada would stop the violation of his human rights.

The lawyers alleged the violations were due in part to Canadian intelligence officials who interrogated him at Guantanamo Bay in 2003-04, knowing he had been repeatedly deprived of sleep, and passed the information on to U.S. officials.

The Federal Court of Canada had agreed and ordered the government to request his return in April 2009. A panel of the Court of Appeal upheld that ruling in 2-1 decision in August, prompting the government to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court decision doesn't prevent the government from voluntarily asking for Khadr's return. However, even if the government does make the request, there is no guarantee that U.S. officials would agree.

Nathan Whitling, Khadr's lawyer, said he didn't think Khadr would be surprised by Friday's ruling.

"He has never had a whole lot of hope in terms of the Canadian government, in any event," Whitling said.

Whitling said he doesn't expect further assistance from the Canadian government and the focus of Khadr's legal team will now shift to the trial proceedings.

Dennis Edney, another one of Khadr's lawyers, said he will be heading to Guantanamo Bay on Monday, where he will continue to negotiate with U.S. officials and inform Khadr of the ruling. Edney said that while he doesn't have faith in the Canadian government's conduct, he will try to give Khadr a more optimistic message.

"I will say that the court has the belief that ... the Canadian government has a moral conscience and will do the right thing," he said. "I will tell him, 'And that's what we have to pray and hope.'"

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said the ball is now in the government's court.

"The only thing it can’t do is to do nothing because the court clearly said that the rights of a Canadian citizen have been violated."

He added that the Liberals recognize that Khadr was a child soldier and had been calling for him to be brought back to Canada from the beginning.

But Edney said neither Stephen Harper's Conservative government nor the Liberal government before it did anything about Khadr's situation.

Human rights group Amnesty International echoed the opinion that the government has to respond to the ruling.

"It is not open to the Canadian government to just yawn and not take that seriously now," said Alex Neve, a spokesman for the group.

"There has to be an effective response that demonstrates that this government is prepared to stand up for rights of Canadians and is prepared to take seriously judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada, even if the court did not feel inclined to say specifically what the Canadian government has to do here."


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/29/omar-khadr-supreme-court.html#ixzz0e24HpFIz

Ottawa must press for Khadr's return: Appeal Court.

Harper no doubt is unhappy with this decision. He can still appeal to the Supreme Court. He has absolutely no shame and no worry about paying the legal bills either since the taxpayer will be doing that.
Obama has never had a thing to say about Khadr's case as far as I am aware. No doubt he has other issues on his mind!


Ottawa must press for Khadr's return: Appeal Court

CBC News
The Federal Court of Appeal upheld a ruling Friday that ordered the Canadian government to press for the return of Omar Khadr from a U.S. military detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.The Toronto-born Khadr, now 22, is being held at Guantanamo and is accused of killing a U.S. army soldier with a hand grenade during a gunfight in Afghanistan in 2002, when Khadr was 15. His case remains on hold pending a review of the U.S. military tribunal system by the Obama administration.
In April, Federal Court Judge James O'Reilly ruled in favour of Khadr's charter challenge of the Canadian government's decision not to request his repatriation from Guantanamo Bay.
The federal government appealed the decision and has long maintained that because of the seriousness of the charges, Khadr should face military proceedings in the United States.
In his 43-page decision, O'Reilly wrote that the federal government's ongoing refusal to request his repatriation to Canada "offends a principle of fundamental justice and violates Mr. Khadr's rights.
"To mitigate the effect of that violation, Canada must present a request to the United States for Mr. Khadr's repatriation as soon as practicable," the judge wrote.
Khadr's lawyers have argued the Canadian government was complicit in the detainee's alleged torture and mistreatment while in U.S. custody and is obliged under international law to demand his return.
Documents show Khadr's U.S. captors threatened him with rape, kept him isolated and deprived him of sleep. In 2003, Canadian Security Intelligence Service officers travelled to Guantanamo to question Khadr and shared the results of their interrogations with the Americans.
The watchdog over CSIS recently found the spy agency ignored concerns about human rights and Khadr's young age in deciding to interview him.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe have sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama calling for Khadr's repatriation and for any evidence against him to be released to Canadian authorities.
The U.S. and Canadian governments are signatories to a United Nations protocol that states fighters under age 18 are to be considered child soldiers and must be released and helped to reintegrate into society.With files from The Canadian Press

Feds flip-flop on Khadr appeal.

This is from the Edmonton Sun.

Cannon is a loose cannon. In a short space he manages to commit the fallacy of ad populum and ad hominem. Instead of presenting an argument as to why the court decision ought to be appealed Cannon simply appeals to popular feelings against Khadr (ad populum) and also launches a personal attack on Khadr rather than the decision (ad hominem). This is disgraceful and disgusting but about par for the course given the level of political discourse in this country at times. But as the article shows even Harper has not decided for sure on an appeal as yet. Maybe he is sniffing the political winds.


April 25, 2009
Feds flip-flop on Khadr appeal
By ALTHIA RAJ
Confusion reigned over Omar Khadr's fate yesterday as Conservatives flip-flopped over a possible legal appeal and suggested he might have built bombs like the ones that have killed Canadian soldiers.
This week a Federal Court judge ordered the feds to repatriate Khadr from Guantanamo Bay, but Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon told MPs the government would appeal the decision.
Cannon also likened images of Khadr allegedly building bombs to the types of explosives that recently killed a soldier in Afghanistan.
"We saw this man apparently trying to build the same bombs that have taken the lives of a certain number of our soldiers, including Karine Blais, who died last week," Cannon said.
NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar called the minister's words "reprehensible" and demanded he apologize for disrespecting fallen soldiers.
"It's very strange. It's quite bizarre and it's quite sad. He seems to be using the tragedy of the loss of lives of Canadian soldiers to defend an indefensible position of the Canadian government not to do its job and repatriate Mr. Khadr," he said.
Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae said the government is orchestrating a "smear campaign" against Khadr to deflect attention from its own inaction.
"There is a serious decision of the Federal Court and Mr. Cannon has chosen to change the subject and frame the discussion in a completely different way," said Rae.
Khadr was 15 when he was accused of throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
Cannon's spokeswoman, Catherine Loubier, said the minister might have spoken prematurely when he said the government would appeal the Federal Court's order.
The government is leaning that way, but wants more legal advice before making a decision, which is expected within 30 days, she said.