As the article notes the US has never recognised the fact that when apprehended Khadr was a juvenile and should be considered a child soldier. The military commissions are also as the article also points out a second class system of justice in that among other things hearsay evidence can be presented and evidence derived through coercion is admissible. Of course justice for terror suspects in the US is a farce in any event. Obama for example has already declared that the suspects to be tried in civilian courts will be found guilty! So much for the presumption of incidence. Of course as the article points out the whole idea of trying some in military courts and others in civilian courts has no justifiable rationale. All should be tried in civilian courts. Of course the government no doubt knows that if Khadr were tried in a civilian court they would probably lose. They want to only try those in civilian courts who they are certain to convict!
- Antiwar.com Original - -
‘New’ Military Courts Still Lack Basic Safeguards
Posted By William Fisher
While conservatives complain about Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other terror suspects from Guantánamo coming to New York for trial, many legal experts and human rights groups are being equally outspoken in their criticism of the "new and improved" military commissions designated to try five other detainees.
And some are particularly incensed that Omar Khadr, Guantánamo’s "child soldier" – a Canadian captured in Afghanistan seven years ago when he was only 15 and imprisoned at Guantánamo ever since – is slated to be one of the five others to be tried before military commissions.
The "new and improved" military commissions were part of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama signed last month. It included some changes in the rules governing military commission proceedings and is intended to replace — and improve upon — the George W. Bush-era Military Commissions Act of 2006, which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional last year.
Human rights groups and many legal experts are charging that, while the new regulations improve the commissions to come extent, they remain not only unnecessary but dangerous because they establish a parallel system of second-class justice.
Furthermore, they point out, the actual implementation of military commission proceedings could be delayed for years by legal challenges – as were their predecessors.
Much of the early pushback against the military commissions is centering on the Khadr case. Khadr is a Canadian citizen who was arrested in Afghanistan when he was 15 years old, accused of throwing a grenade that killed an Army medic, and sent to Guantánamo Bay in 2002, where he has been imprisoned for more than seven years without charge or trial.
The U.S. government has refused to acknowledge his status as a child or to apply universally recognized standards of juvenile justice in his case.
The other child soldier, Mohammed Jawad, was released back to Afghanistan after the government failed to produce enough credible evidence to bring charges against him.
The only Western citizen remaining in Guantánamo, Khadr is unique in that Canada has refused to seek extradition or repatriation despite the urgings of Amnesty International, UNICEF, the Canadian Bar Association and other prominent organizations.
Last week, on the same day U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was appearing before the press, the Supreme Court of Canada was hearing oral arguments in an appeal by the Canadian government on two lower court decisions that found Khadr’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms had been breached when Canadian officials interviewed him at the prison in Guantánamo in 2003 and shared the resulting information with U.S. authorities.
Khadr’s lawyers argued that Canada was complicit in his abuse and maintain that the Canadian government is obliged under international law to demand the prisoner’s return.
The U.S. attorney general believes that the reforms Congress recently incorporated into the Military Commissions Act will ensure that military commission trials will be fair and that convictions obtained will be secure.
But many disagree. One of them is Prof. David Frakt of Western State University law school, the Air Force Reserve officer who successfully served as military defense counsel for Mohammed Jawad.
Frakt has strong views on military commissions. He believes that "Allowing some cases to go forward in the military commissions means that some detainees are getting second-class justice."
He is also unclear about the rationale for a system of parallel justice. He told IPS, "The administration’s justifications for which cases are being send to federal court and which cases to military commissions don’t stand up to scrutiny. For example, they claim that the attack on the U.S.S. Cole, allegedly planned by Mr. Al-Nashiri, was a violation of the law of war and therefore should be tried in a military commission, but the government has been claiming for years that the 9/11 attacks were also violations of the law of war."
"In fact, the attack on the U.S.S. Cole was definitively not a violation of the law of war because there was no armed conflict taking place at the time of the attack. Rather, it was an isolated terrorist attack, the type of murder of U.S. service members during peacetime that we have always tried in federal courts before."
Frakt is also critical of the "new" military commissions because, like their predecessors, they fail to protect juveniles.
"It is appalling that the Obama administration is allowing charges to go forward in the military commissions against Omar Khadr," he said. "Clearly, Omar Khadr, as a juvenile of 15 at the time of his alleged offences, could not be tried as an adult in federal court, so they are allowing him to be tried as an adult in the military commissions, potentially making him the first child soldier to be tried and convicted as a war criminal in world history."
Frakt believes the military commissions are still "fundamentally flawed" for a number of reasons. He noted that there is no requirement of pretrial investigation, such as a preliminary hearing or grand jury, and that evidence derived from coerced statements may still be admitted into evidence.
"Now that that the evidentiary rules in military commissions have been tightened to more closely resemble the rules in federal courts, the real reason for the creation of military commissions — the ability to gain easy convictions on tainted evidence — has largely been removed," he added. "But the taint of the original process still lingers. The perception that the military commissions are a second-class option remains."
Since the passage of its very first incarnation, the Military Commissions Act has spent most of its time in court responding to challenges to its constitutionality.
In 2006, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the Military Tribunals set up by the Bush administration to try terror suspects at Guantánamo. Congress then passed the Military Commissions Act (MCA) of 2006, "To authorize trial by military commission for violations of the law of war." But the MCA was also declared unconstitutional two years later.
While litigation was ongoing – and that was virtually constant – trials at Guantánamo came to a complete standstill. That is a major reason that there were only three trials in eight years.
Many in the human rights community see a similar fate awaiting the 2009 amended version of the MCA.
Showing posts with label Guantanamo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guantanamo. Show all posts
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Khadr affidavit alleges abuse
This is from CBC. Many people will simply write off Khadr's allegations. The article could have noted that there is plenty of corroborating evidence plus the fact that one of his main interrogators has actually been court-martialed and sent to jail for abuse of detainees!
No mention in this article either that other countries such as France have intervened in the case on Kahdr's behalf but not Canada. Harper knows that intervening may please a few lawyers and human rights activists but many Canadians seem to think that given that Khadr is a member of a family of terrorists except for the kid who was a CIA spy that it doesn't matter his trial is a mockery of justice.
Khadr affidavit alleges abuse, rape threats
Court document shows Khadr's first comments since 2002 detention
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 | 4:35 PM ET Comments25Recommend29The Associated Press
Canadian Omar Khadr says U.S. military interrogators in Afghanistan threatened him with rape and treated him harshly, forcing him to make false statements, according to an affidavit released Tuesday.
In this courtroom sketch from June 2007, Canadian Omar Khadr, far left, sits flanked by two civilian and one military lawyer at Guantanamo U.S. Naval Base in Cuba.
(Janet Hamlin/Associated Press)
Khadr, who is accused of killing U.S. medic Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer with a grenade in a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan, also alleged that guards at the U.S. naval base in Cuba abused him while he was weak from a hunger strike.
He said they kneed him repeatedly in the thighs and grabbed him by pressure points behind his ears, under his jaw and on his neck.
"On a scale of one to ten, I would say the pain was an eleven," Khadr said.
Military censors who checked the affidavit before it was released blacked out Khadr's allegations of how U.S. soldiers inflicted pain on him at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
The Toronto-born Khadr, who was 15 when he was wounded and captured, is expected to go on trial at Guantanamo this summer before America's first war crimes tribunals since the Second World War era. His lawyers say the abuse allegations raise doubts about the government's evidence.
After being taken to Bagram with two gunshot wounds in his back, Khadr said he was questioned by soldiers who sat beside his stretcher. A photograph published by the Toronto Star this month, taken as U.S. soldiers treated Khadr in the aftermath of the firefight, showed he had two gaping exit wounds in his chest.
Two weeks into his detention, Khadr said, he was moved from the hospital directly to an interrogation room.
"During the interrogations, the pain was taking my thoughts away," Khadr said. Most details of his sessions were redacted from the affidavit by censors. Khadr said that on some occasions, soldiers covered his head with a bag and brought barking dogs into the room.
"I figured out right away that I would simply tell them whatever I thought they wanted to hear in order to keep them from causing me (redacted)," Khadr said.
A Pentagon spokesman would not immediately comment on Khadr's allegations.
'Life got much worse for me'
Defence lawyers filed the affidavit ahead of a pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo last week. It was released to journalists Tuesday after the military censored it.
Khadr's Navy lawyer, Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said Khadr's abuse allegations undermine the validity of statements he made while being interrogated.
Khadr, who has been held at Guantanamo since October 2002, said that after telling the Americans there that his previous statements were untrue, "life got much worse for me." The only unredacted portion of the ensuing account says a Navy interrogator pulled his hair and spat in his face.
Khadr, the son of a suspected al-Qaeda financier, is charged with murder in the death of the soldier and is accused of planting mines against U.S. convoys.
He is among the first of roughly 80 detainees the Pentagon plans to prosecute at Guantanamo, which holds about 275 men on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
© The Canadian Press, 2008
No mention in this article either that other countries such as France have intervened in the case on Kahdr's behalf but not Canada. Harper knows that intervening may please a few lawyers and human rights activists but many Canadians seem to think that given that Khadr is a member of a family of terrorists except for the kid who was a CIA spy that it doesn't matter his trial is a mockery of justice.
Khadr affidavit alleges abuse, rape threats
Court document shows Khadr's first comments since 2002 detention
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 | 4:35 PM ET Comments25Recommend29The Associated Press
Canadian Omar Khadr says U.S. military interrogators in Afghanistan threatened him with rape and treated him harshly, forcing him to make false statements, according to an affidavit released Tuesday.
In this courtroom sketch from June 2007, Canadian Omar Khadr, far left, sits flanked by two civilian and one military lawyer at Guantanamo U.S. Naval Base in Cuba.
(Janet Hamlin/Associated Press)
Khadr, who is accused of killing U.S. medic Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer with a grenade in a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan, also alleged that guards at the U.S. naval base in Cuba abused him while he was weak from a hunger strike.
He said they kneed him repeatedly in the thighs and grabbed him by pressure points behind his ears, under his jaw and on his neck.
"On a scale of one to ten, I would say the pain was an eleven," Khadr said.
Military censors who checked the affidavit before it was released blacked out Khadr's allegations of how U.S. soldiers inflicted pain on him at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
The Toronto-born Khadr, who was 15 when he was wounded and captured, is expected to go on trial at Guantanamo this summer before America's first war crimes tribunals since the Second World War era. His lawyers say the abuse allegations raise doubts about the government's evidence.
After being taken to Bagram with two gunshot wounds in his back, Khadr said he was questioned by soldiers who sat beside his stretcher. A photograph published by the Toronto Star this month, taken as U.S. soldiers treated Khadr in the aftermath of the firefight, showed he had two gaping exit wounds in his chest.
Two weeks into his detention, Khadr said, he was moved from the hospital directly to an interrogation room.
"During the interrogations, the pain was taking my thoughts away," Khadr said. Most details of his sessions were redacted from the affidavit by censors. Khadr said that on some occasions, soldiers covered his head with a bag and brought barking dogs into the room.
"I figured out right away that I would simply tell them whatever I thought they wanted to hear in order to keep them from causing me (redacted)," Khadr said.
A Pentagon spokesman would not immediately comment on Khadr's allegations.
'Life got much worse for me'
Defence lawyers filed the affidavit ahead of a pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo last week. It was released to journalists Tuesday after the military censored it.
Khadr's Navy lawyer, Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said Khadr's abuse allegations undermine the validity of statements he made while being interrogated.
Khadr, who has been held at Guantanamo since October 2002, said that after telling the Americans there that his previous statements were untrue, "life got much worse for me." The only unredacted portion of the ensuing account says a Navy interrogator pulled his hair and spat in his face.
Khadr, the son of a suspected al-Qaeda financier, is charged with murder in the death of the soldier and is accused of planting mines against U.S. convoys.
He is among the first of roughly 80 detainees the Pentagon plans to prosecute at Guantanamo, which holds about 275 men on suspicion of links to al-Qaeda or the Taliban.
© The Canadian Press, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
France asks U.S. to drop charges against Khadr
Sometimes I am very surprised by events. Sarkozy is right wing and in general goes along with Bush policies. Perhaps sometimes some politicians simply act on principle.
I find it difficult to explain otherwise why France would act in this way. The action should embarass Harper. Harper portrays himself as a champion of human rights but in Khadr's case he has steadfastly refused to defend the rights of a Canadian citizen while France defends his rights! I expect that Harper will just shrug the matter off. After all, Khadr is a member of a notorious Canadian terrorist family and there is not likely to be an outpouring of sympathy for him or any voter backlash.
France asks U.S. to drop charges against Khadr
Last Updated: Thursday, January 24, 2008 | 11:13 AM ET
CBC News
The government of France is urging the United States to drop charges against Canadian terror suspect Omar Khadr, saying he should be treated as a minor.
Pascale Andreani, a spokeswoman for France's Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Paris Wednesday that France considers any child associated with an armed conflict a victim. Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002, is being held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Omar Khadr is shown in a 2002 file photo, at the age of 15, around the time he was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He has been detained at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
(Canadian Press) She said France considers "all children associated with an armed conflict … should be treated accordingly."
"As a minor at the time of the events, Mr. Khadr must be given special treatment — a point on which there is a universal consensus," Andreani said.
Khadr is expected to be tried by a military tribunal later this year on charges he killed a U.S. soldier with a hand grenade.
Under a United Nations protocol, fighters under 18 years of age are defined as child soldiers.
Khadr's American military lawyer Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler said France appears more interested in the rights of a Canadian prisoner than Canada.
"I think the clear violation of international law is what is of concern to the populations of Europe," he said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has so far refused to follow the lead of other Western countries, which successfully lobbied to have their nationals at Guantanamo returned home.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has not responded to France's show of support for Khadr. A spokesperson at the department sent CBC News a statement written months ago that said: "Questions regarding whether Canada plans to ask for the release of Mr. Khadr are premature … as the legal and appeal processes are still ongoing."
I find it difficult to explain otherwise why France would act in this way. The action should embarass Harper. Harper portrays himself as a champion of human rights but in Khadr's case he has steadfastly refused to defend the rights of a Canadian citizen while France defends his rights! I expect that Harper will just shrug the matter off. After all, Khadr is a member of a notorious Canadian terrorist family and there is not likely to be an outpouring of sympathy for him or any voter backlash.
France asks U.S. to drop charges against Khadr
Last Updated: Thursday, January 24, 2008 | 11:13 AM ET
CBC News
The government of France is urging the United States to drop charges against Canadian terror suspect Omar Khadr, saying he should be treated as a minor.
Pascale Andreani, a spokeswoman for France's Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Paris Wednesday that France considers any child associated with an armed conflict a victim. Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002, is being held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Omar Khadr is shown in a 2002 file photo, at the age of 15, around the time he was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. He has been detained at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
(Canadian Press) She said France considers "all children associated with an armed conflict … should be treated accordingly."
"As a minor at the time of the events, Mr. Khadr must be given special treatment — a point on which there is a universal consensus," Andreani said.
Khadr is expected to be tried by a military tribunal later this year on charges he killed a U.S. soldier with a hand grenade.
Under a United Nations protocol, fighters under 18 years of age are defined as child soldiers.
Khadr's American military lawyer Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler said France appears more interested in the rights of a Canadian prisoner than Canada.
"I think the clear violation of international law is what is of concern to the populations of Europe," he said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has so far refused to follow the lead of other Western countries, which successfully lobbied to have their nationals at Guantanamo returned home.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has not responded to France's show of support for Khadr. A spokesperson at the department sent CBC News a statement written months ago that said: "Questions regarding whether Canada plans to ask for the release of Mr. Khadr are premature … as the legal and appeal processes are still ongoing."
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Lawyers ask judge to dismiss Khadr case.
When was the US ever worried about violating international law? The U.S. makes a habit of it even having been found guilty of doing so by an International Court for mining harbours in Nicaragua. If the judge does dismiss the case the US will find some way around the problem as they did when another judge dismissed all the cases!
Canada of course has confidence in the US court system in Guantanamo. Canada is the only western country that has not attempted to intervene on behalf of their citizens.
Lawyers ask judge to dismiss Khadr case
Last Updated: Friday, January 18, 2008 | 12:50 PM ET
CBC News
Lawyers for Canadian Omar Khadr want a U.S. military judge to dismiss his terrorism case on the grounds that he was a child soldier when he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002.
They've filed a motion arguing that a military tribunal has no jurisdiction over Khadr because he was 15 years old when he allegedly threw a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier.
The motion contends that trying Khadr at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay would violate international law.
It is one of several motions being filed on behalf of Khadr, who's charged with murder in the 2002 death of American medic Sgt. First Class Christopher J. Speer in Afghanistan. He is also charged with spying, conspiracy and supporting terrorism.
Another motion argues the war crimes system set up by U.S. President George W. Bush to try terror suspects is unconstitutional because it was designed only for non-Americans.
Some of the defence motions are expected to be considered at a hearing next month.
Canada of course has confidence in the US court system in Guantanamo. Canada is the only western country that has not attempted to intervene on behalf of their citizens.
Lawyers ask judge to dismiss Khadr case
Last Updated: Friday, January 18, 2008 | 12:50 PM ET
CBC News
Lawyers for Canadian Omar Khadr want a U.S. military judge to dismiss his terrorism case on the grounds that he was a child soldier when he was captured in Afghanistan in 2002.
They've filed a motion arguing that a military tribunal has no jurisdiction over Khadr because he was 15 years old when he allegedly threw a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier.
The motion contends that trying Khadr at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay would violate international law.
It is one of several motions being filed on behalf of Khadr, who's charged with murder in the 2002 death of American medic Sgt. First Class Christopher J. Speer in Afghanistan. He is also charged with spying, conspiracy and supporting terrorism.
Another motion argues the war crimes system set up by U.S. President George W. Bush to try terror suspects is unconstitutional because it was designed only for non-Americans.
Some of the defence motions are expected to be considered at a hearing next month.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Court will hear appeal on Khadr
The hypocrisy of the Harper government is open for all to see here. Imagine the Canadian govt. The govt. will not ask the US to return Khadr to Canada and it claims that it expects Khadr will get due process in Guantanamo a positively ludicrous idea given the nature of the military tribunals. It never said boo to the fact that its own citizen was imprisoned for years while still a juvenile in Guantanamo. It is easy to greet the Dalai Lama and give honorary citizenship to a Burmese dissident than to complain about the violation of basic rights of a Canadian citizen by its master the US of A. This contradiction goes unremarked since Khadr is an accused terrorist. Only the good guys(and gals) deserve human rights apparently.
Court will hear appeal on Khadr
Crown wants top court to decide whether it's obliged to give file to prisoner's lawyers
Oct 26, 2007 04:30 AM
Tonda MacCharles
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether the federal government should be forced to turn over its complete file on Canadian Omar Khadr to his lawyers.
Yesterday, the high court granted the Canadian government leave to appeal a lower court decision ordering potential disclosure of thousands of pages of documents.
The government wants most of the documents kept secret for national security reasons.
But if the top court doesn't move swiftly to hear and rule on the case, it won't matter for Khadr, said one of his Canadian lawyers, Nate Whitling.
That's because Khadr is due to reappear Nov. 8 before a U.S. military commission, which is trying him on five charges, including murder in the July 2002 death of a U.S. special forces medic.
"It is a setback," said Whitling, of the further delay in releasing the documents. He has argued the documents were key to a fair trial for the 21-year-old man, held in Guantanamo Bay. Now, Khadr's legal team is putting together a motion to expedite the hearing.
The Toronto-born Khadr was taken prisoner by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15. He was later sent to a U.S. military detention facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, where he has been held since October 2002.
As is custom, the Supreme Court of Canada did not release reasons for agreeing to hear the appeal. The judges usually only hear matters that are deemed of national interest. No date has been set for the appeal.
Agents for CSIS and Foreign Affairs interviewed Khadr in 2003 in Guantanamo Bay. Canada turned over summaries of its notes to American investigators.
But only heavily censored documents were released to Khadr, after his lawyers sought the material under Access to Information laws.
In May, a Federal Court of Appeal judge ruled that wasn't good enough.
Khadr's lawyers say the Canadian government is hypocritical in its positions. On the one hand, it refuses to ask the U.S. to return Khadr to Canada, saying it expects the U.S. to accord him due process and a fair trial. On the other hand, Khadr's lawyers say Ottawa's refusal to fully disclose documents make it unlikely he will get one.
Canada's actions are aggravated by the fact Khadr was 15 at the time, they say.
"The Canadian government's actions suggest more than mere indifference to Omar's plight – by interrogating Omar as a child in Guantanamo, the government has been complicit in violations of Omar's basic human rights," Dennis Edney, Khadr's lead Canadian lawyer, said in a written statement.
Court will hear appeal on Khadr
Crown wants top court to decide whether it's obliged to give file to prisoner's lawyers
Oct 26, 2007 04:30 AM
Tonda MacCharles
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether the federal government should be forced to turn over its complete file on Canadian Omar Khadr to his lawyers.
Yesterday, the high court granted the Canadian government leave to appeal a lower court decision ordering potential disclosure of thousands of pages of documents.
The government wants most of the documents kept secret for national security reasons.
But if the top court doesn't move swiftly to hear and rule on the case, it won't matter for Khadr, said one of his Canadian lawyers, Nate Whitling.
That's because Khadr is due to reappear Nov. 8 before a U.S. military commission, which is trying him on five charges, including murder in the July 2002 death of a U.S. special forces medic.
"It is a setback," said Whitling, of the further delay in releasing the documents. He has argued the documents were key to a fair trial for the 21-year-old man, held in Guantanamo Bay. Now, Khadr's legal team is putting together a motion to expedite the hearing.
The Toronto-born Khadr was taken prisoner by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, when he was 15. He was later sent to a U.S. military detention facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, where he has been held since October 2002.
As is custom, the Supreme Court of Canada did not release reasons for agreeing to hear the appeal. The judges usually only hear matters that are deemed of national interest. No date has been set for the appeal.
Agents for CSIS and Foreign Affairs interviewed Khadr in 2003 in Guantanamo Bay. Canada turned over summaries of its notes to American investigators.
But only heavily censored documents were released to Khadr, after his lawyers sought the material under Access to Information laws.
In May, a Federal Court of Appeal judge ruled that wasn't good enough.
Khadr's lawyers say the Canadian government is hypocritical in its positions. On the one hand, it refuses to ask the U.S. to return Khadr to Canada, saying it expects the U.S. to accord him due process and a fair trial. On the other hand, Khadr's lawyers say Ottawa's refusal to fully disclose documents make it unlikely he will get one.
Canada's actions are aggravated by the fact Khadr was 15 at the time, they say.
"The Canadian government's actions suggest more than mere indifference to Omar's plight – by interrogating Omar as a child in Guantanamo, the government has been complicit in violations of Omar's basic human rights," Dennis Edney, Khadr's lead Canadian lawyer, said in a written statement.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Ottawa does not ask for Khadr release.
Canada is not ready to ask for Khadr's release because it would just be embarassing to be refused. Of course Khadr's brother was released to spy for the US in Bosnia and eventually to be repatriated. Canada does not even criticise Guantanamo because it does not want to irritate the US. Harper would have taken us into the Iraq war. The US will hold Khadr indefinitely whether the appeal is successful or not. Notice that Ottawa has said nothing about his five year detention or detention while a juvenile or even about the murder charge. Given that almost everyone with Khadr was shot including Khadr himself you would think that throwing a grenade would be self-defence!
Ottawa not ready to ask for release of Khadr
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 | 8:56 PM ET
CBC News
Ottawa has not yet requested that Omar Khadr, the only Canadian being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, be released to Canadian custody despite a judge's decision last week to drop all charges against him.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said he has spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about Khadr's health.
"I asked specifically about his well-being and for a medical and psychological assessment to be done," MacKay said. "We're going to continue to provide consular access, as we do in the case of all Canadians."
Rice has been asked to allow Khadr better access to his family, legal counsel and the educational materials he's requested.
MacKay said Ottawa will wait until the appeals process is complete before deciding what its next move will be. The U.S. Defence Department is appealing the judge's decision.
The military judge said he dropped the charges of murder and terrorism because Khadr was officially classified as an "enemy combatant," but the military courts in Guantanamo only have jurisdiction to try "unlawful enemy combatants."
Khadr, 20, is accused of throwing a grenade that killed an American medic, Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer.
Khadr was arrested in July 2002 during a firefight with American troops in Afghanistan that left the teenager badly injured, with two gunshot wounds to the chest.
He was held in Afghanistan for three months, then transferred to Cuba.
Ottawa not ready to ask for release of Khadr
Last Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 | 8:56 PM ET
CBC News
Ottawa has not yet requested that Omar Khadr, the only Canadian being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, be released to Canadian custody despite a judge's decision last week to drop all charges against him.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said he has spoken with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice about Khadr's health.
"I asked specifically about his well-being and for a medical and psychological assessment to be done," MacKay said. "We're going to continue to provide consular access, as we do in the case of all Canadians."
Rice has been asked to allow Khadr better access to his family, legal counsel and the educational materials he's requested.
MacKay said Ottawa will wait until the appeals process is complete before deciding what its next move will be. The U.S. Defence Department is appealing the judge's decision.
The military judge said he dropped the charges of murder and terrorism because Khadr was officially classified as an "enemy combatant," but the military courts in Guantanamo only have jurisdiction to try "unlawful enemy combatants."
Khadr, 20, is accused of throwing a grenade that killed an American medic, Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer.
Khadr was arrested in July 2002 during a firefight with American troops in Afghanistan that left the teenager badly injured, with two gunshot wounds to the chest.
He was held in Afghanistan for three months, then transferred to Cuba.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Amnesty Internation: The Case of Omar Khadr
According to this account the Canadian authorities were not very helpful to Khadr. A brother was also at Guantanamo for some time as a spy. The next post is about him.
This is from the Amnesty website.Case Studies:
Who are the Guantánamo detainees?
Canadian national: Omar Khadr
Full name: Omar Khadr
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 19
"Young enemy combatants are treated in a manner appropriate to their age and status." Letter from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Butler to Amnesty International, July 2003.
Omar Khadr was taken into US custody when he was 15 years old. The US government has said that all detainees are "treated in a manner appropriate to their age and status". If this is true, then the case of Omar Khadr indicates that an "appropriate manner" involves torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as well as denial of any form of justice.
Perhaps because the USA is one of only two states that have not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes that children need special safeguards and care, it feels free to trample on the human rights of juveniles in its "war on terror".
Omar Khadr is one of at least four and possibly nine of the current Guantánamo Bay detainees who were aged under 18 when detained. In April 2003 the US authorities revealed that children as young as 13 were detained in the prison. Reports of torture and attempted suicide by juvenile detainees undermine the claim by US authorities that they are receiving "special emotional and physical care". Contrary to international standards the Pentagon has defined child detainees as those aged under 16, rather than under 18.
Lieutenant Corporal Johnson, a spokesperson for the US military, stated in 2003 that, "until we ensure that they're no longer a threat, that there’s no pending law enforcement against them, that they’re no longer of intelligence value", the children would continue to be held.
Arrest and injury
Omar Khadr was wounded by US soldiers during a battle near Khost, Afghanistan, and taken into US custody on 27 July 2002. During his capture he was shot three times and is nearly blind in one eye as a result of his injuries. The US military says that Omar Khadr killed a US soldier, Sergeant Christopher J. Speer, in the operation.
Even though Omar Khadr was seriously injured, his interrogation started as soon as he was taken into custody. A US official stated that captured prisoners were so scared of abuse by US soldiers that they would talk without prompting. The prisoners "sometimes think we are going to cut out their livers" he said, giving Omar Khadr as an example of a prisoner "singing like a bird". Omar Khadr alleges that:
he asked for pain medication for his wounds but was refused;
during interrogations a bag was placed over his head and US personnel brought military dogs into the room to frighten him;
cold water was thrown on him;
his hands were tied above a door frame and he was forced to stand in this position for hours;
he was not allowed to use the bathroom and was forced to urinate on himself.
On 30 August 2002 Canadian officials sent a diplomatic note to the US authorities asking for consular access to Omar Khadr while he was held in the US airbase at Bagram, Afghanistan. The US denied the request on 9 September, saying only that they would notify the Canadian government if any Canadian citizens were transferred to Guantánamo Bay.
Guantánamo Bay
"Your life is in my hands." Interrogator to Omar Khadr in Guantánamo.
Omar Khadr was transferred to Guantánamo Bay in October 2002. He says that as soon as he arrived he was subjected to a range of torture and ill-treatment that included:
being short-shackled by his hands and feet to a bolt in the floor and left for five to six hours; occasionally a US officer would enter the room to laugh at him;
being kept in extremely cold rooms;
being lifted up by the neck while shackled, and then dropped to the floor;
being beaten by guards;
having a finger pressed into a pressure point in his neck, causing severe pain and inability to breathe.
He alleges that on one occasion guards left him short-shackled in an interrogation room until he urinated on himself. Guards then poured a pine scented cleaning fluid over him and used him as a "human mop" to clean up the mess. He says that he was not provided with clean clothes for several days after this degradation.
Omar Khadr was held in Camp V of Guantánamo Bay for over a year and, according to his lawyer, was only transferred recently to Camp IV. Camp V is the most notorious of the camps still operating at Guantánamo, styled on the harsh super-maximum security units on the US mainland. It is reserved for "high value" or "uncooperative" detainees.
Omar Khadr says of his time in Camp V:
the lights were kept on 24 hours a day and detainees were punished for trying to cover the lights with their clothes;
the air conditioning was kept on cold, which he says "destroyed his lungs";
he was routinely placed in isolation, sometimes for up to a month;
he was only allowed exercise once every four or five days, and in 2005 went without exercise in daylight hours for several months.
In addition to the beatings, isolation and frequent interrogations, Omar Khadr has been threatened with transfer to Afghanistan, Jordan and other places. He understood that these were threats of transfer to places where he would be tortured. He was also told that an Egyptian soldier, known to him only as Soldier Number 9, would be sent to rape him.
Hunger strike
In protest against his treatment and conditions at Guantánamo, Omar Khadr embarked on a hunger strike in July 2005 along with up to 200 other detainees. He went without food for 15 days, during which he was taken to the camp hospital twice to be given intravenous fluids. Omar Khadr lost 30 pounds (13.5kg) during the strike. Another detainee, Omar Deghayes, says he witnessed Omar Khadr vomiting blood.
During the hunger stirke the abuse did not stop. On one occasion, when guards were transferring him to the hospital, he was told to walk back to his cell. As he was too weak to do so, the guards allegedly lifted him off the ground and repeatedly kicked his leg.
The hunger strike ended in July when the US authorities apparently made a number of concessions to the detainees. The detainees resumed their hunger strike in August, however, because the camp authorities had not kept their promises and in response to particularly brutal abuse. One of those at the receiving end of a beating was Omar Khadr.
"Get ready for a miserable life." Interrogator to Omar Khadr in Guantánamo.
In November 2004, Omar Khadr’s lawyers gave him a series of psychological tests which were sent to independent psychiatrists for evaluation. In answer to some of the questions Omar Khadr stated that he had flashbacks, difficulty sleeping and had heard voices when no one was there.
Dr Eric W. Trupin, an expert on the mental health of juveniles in correctional facilities, evaluated the tests. He said Omar Khadr’s symptoms were "consistent with those exhibited by victims of torture" and called for "the immediate cessation of mental and physical abuse". He noted that the conditions in which Omar Khadr was held were particularly harmful to adolescents. He concluded that Omar Khadr had a mental disorder "including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder" and that he was "a moderate to high risk of suicide".
Government lawyers sought to cast doubt on the doctors’ diagnosis by saying they had relied on second hand testimony, overlooking the dark irony that the same government was denying any kind of independent medical evaluation.
Role of Canadian authorities
"I'm not here to help you. I'm not here to do anything for you. I'm just here to get information." Canadian interrogator to Omar Khadr in Guantánamo.
Flying in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Canadian government accepted the promise of the then Secretary of State Colin Powell, who stated that "all enemy combatants at Guantánamo are treated humanely" when writing to the Canadian authorities about Omar Khadr.
The Canadian government may not simply have neglected their responsibilities towards Omar Khadr. It may also have been complicit in his detention and ill-treatment.
Omar Khadr has been interrogated several times by Canadian officials. According to papers filed in a US court, Omar Khadr was visited by Canadian officials four times in four days, starting on 27 March 2003. Rather than asking about his health or if he wanted to send a message to his family, the Canadian officials interrogated him.
Canadian lawyers for Omar Khadr filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government, arguing that the authorities had violated the Canadian Constitution by "participating in interviews or interrogations without a lawyer being present, without [Omar Khadr] being allowed access to consular representation to get advice, without him being allowed to speak to family and friends".
Another lawsuit attempted to force the Canadian government to release all its files on Omar Khadr. The government argued that doing so would "be injurious to international relations, national defense or national security". A memo of William Hooper, Assistant Director of Operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which was made public as a result of this case, revealed the logic of the government’s neglect of the human rights of one of its citizens. It states that "any efforts to limit or fetter the service’s investigative powers… will hamper the service’s ability to advise the Canadian government".
The Canadian government has since written to Amnesty International stating that it has raised the allegations of abuse of Omar Khadr with the US government. It said it was engaged in "ongoing diplomatic discussions" with the US regarding his legal status and had requested an independent medical evaluation.
Legal issues
The US government alleges that Omar Khadr is an "al-Qa’ida fighter" and has classified him as an "enemy combatant". Despite this, it has refused to charge Omar Khadr with a recognizably criminal offence and give him a full and fair trial.
Instead, the US Department of Defense announced on 7 November 2005 that Omar Khadr is to be tried by military commission, though they will not seek the death penalty in his case. The military commissions are executive bodies with the power to hand down death sentences against which there is no right of appeal to any court. The military commissions are fundamentally flawed and cannot provide fair trials in accordance with internationally recognized standards
This is from the Amnesty website.Case Studies:
Who are the Guantánamo detainees?
Canadian national: Omar Khadr
Full name: Omar Khadr
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 19
"Young enemy combatants are treated in a manner appropriate to their age and status." Letter from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul Butler to Amnesty International, July 2003.
Omar Khadr was taken into US custody when he was 15 years old. The US government has said that all detainees are "treated in a manner appropriate to their age and status". If this is true, then the case of Omar Khadr indicates that an "appropriate manner" involves torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as well as denial of any form of justice.
Perhaps because the USA is one of only two states that have not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recognizes that children need special safeguards and care, it feels free to trample on the human rights of juveniles in its "war on terror".
Omar Khadr is one of at least four and possibly nine of the current Guantánamo Bay detainees who were aged under 18 when detained. In April 2003 the US authorities revealed that children as young as 13 were detained in the prison. Reports of torture and attempted suicide by juvenile detainees undermine the claim by US authorities that they are receiving "special emotional and physical care". Contrary to international standards the Pentagon has defined child detainees as those aged under 16, rather than under 18.
Lieutenant Corporal Johnson, a spokesperson for the US military, stated in 2003 that, "until we ensure that they're no longer a threat, that there’s no pending law enforcement against them, that they’re no longer of intelligence value", the children would continue to be held.
Arrest and injury
Omar Khadr was wounded by US soldiers during a battle near Khost, Afghanistan, and taken into US custody on 27 July 2002. During his capture he was shot three times and is nearly blind in one eye as a result of his injuries. The US military says that Omar Khadr killed a US soldier, Sergeant Christopher J. Speer, in the operation.
Even though Omar Khadr was seriously injured, his interrogation started as soon as he was taken into custody. A US official stated that captured prisoners were so scared of abuse by US soldiers that they would talk without prompting. The prisoners "sometimes think we are going to cut out their livers" he said, giving Omar Khadr as an example of a prisoner "singing like a bird". Omar Khadr alleges that:
he asked for pain medication for his wounds but was refused;
during interrogations a bag was placed over his head and US personnel brought military dogs into the room to frighten him;
cold water was thrown on him;
his hands were tied above a door frame and he was forced to stand in this position for hours;
he was not allowed to use the bathroom and was forced to urinate on himself.
On 30 August 2002 Canadian officials sent a diplomatic note to the US authorities asking for consular access to Omar Khadr while he was held in the US airbase at Bagram, Afghanistan. The US denied the request on 9 September, saying only that they would notify the Canadian government if any Canadian citizens were transferred to Guantánamo Bay.
Guantánamo Bay
"Your life is in my hands." Interrogator to Omar Khadr in Guantánamo.
Omar Khadr was transferred to Guantánamo Bay in October 2002. He says that as soon as he arrived he was subjected to a range of torture and ill-treatment that included:
being short-shackled by his hands and feet to a bolt in the floor and left for five to six hours; occasionally a US officer would enter the room to laugh at him;
being kept in extremely cold rooms;
being lifted up by the neck while shackled, and then dropped to the floor;
being beaten by guards;
having a finger pressed into a pressure point in his neck, causing severe pain and inability to breathe.
He alleges that on one occasion guards left him short-shackled in an interrogation room until he urinated on himself. Guards then poured a pine scented cleaning fluid over him and used him as a "human mop" to clean up the mess. He says that he was not provided with clean clothes for several days after this degradation.
Omar Khadr was held in Camp V of Guantánamo Bay for over a year and, according to his lawyer, was only transferred recently to Camp IV. Camp V is the most notorious of the camps still operating at Guantánamo, styled on the harsh super-maximum security units on the US mainland. It is reserved for "high value" or "uncooperative" detainees.
Omar Khadr says of his time in Camp V:
the lights were kept on 24 hours a day and detainees were punished for trying to cover the lights with their clothes;
the air conditioning was kept on cold, which he says "destroyed his lungs";
he was routinely placed in isolation, sometimes for up to a month;
he was only allowed exercise once every four or five days, and in 2005 went without exercise in daylight hours for several months.
In addition to the beatings, isolation and frequent interrogations, Omar Khadr has been threatened with transfer to Afghanistan, Jordan and other places. He understood that these were threats of transfer to places where he would be tortured. He was also told that an Egyptian soldier, known to him only as Soldier Number 9, would be sent to rape him.
Hunger strike
In protest against his treatment and conditions at Guantánamo, Omar Khadr embarked on a hunger strike in July 2005 along with up to 200 other detainees. He went without food for 15 days, during which he was taken to the camp hospital twice to be given intravenous fluids. Omar Khadr lost 30 pounds (13.5kg) during the strike. Another detainee, Omar Deghayes, says he witnessed Omar Khadr vomiting blood.
During the hunger stirke the abuse did not stop. On one occasion, when guards were transferring him to the hospital, he was told to walk back to his cell. As he was too weak to do so, the guards allegedly lifted him off the ground and repeatedly kicked his leg.
The hunger strike ended in July when the US authorities apparently made a number of concessions to the detainees. The detainees resumed their hunger strike in August, however, because the camp authorities had not kept their promises and in response to particularly brutal abuse. One of those at the receiving end of a beating was Omar Khadr.
"Get ready for a miserable life." Interrogator to Omar Khadr in Guantánamo.
In November 2004, Omar Khadr’s lawyers gave him a series of psychological tests which were sent to independent psychiatrists for evaluation. In answer to some of the questions Omar Khadr stated that he had flashbacks, difficulty sleeping and had heard voices when no one was there.
Dr Eric W. Trupin, an expert on the mental health of juveniles in correctional facilities, evaluated the tests. He said Omar Khadr’s symptoms were "consistent with those exhibited by victims of torture" and called for "the immediate cessation of mental and physical abuse". He noted that the conditions in which Omar Khadr was held were particularly harmful to adolescents. He concluded that Omar Khadr had a mental disorder "including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder" and that he was "a moderate to high risk of suicide".
Government lawyers sought to cast doubt on the doctors’ diagnosis by saying they had relied on second hand testimony, overlooking the dark irony that the same government was denying any kind of independent medical evaluation.
Role of Canadian authorities
"I'm not here to help you. I'm not here to do anything for you. I'm just here to get information." Canadian interrogator to Omar Khadr in Guantánamo.
Flying in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Canadian government accepted the promise of the then Secretary of State Colin Powell, who stated that "all enemy combatants at Guantánamo are treated humanely" when writing to the Canadian authorities about Omar Khadr.
The Canadian government may not simply have neglected their responsibilities towards Omar Khadr. It may also have been complicit in his detention and ill-treatment.
Omar Khadr has been interrogated several times by Canadian officials. According to papers filed in a US court, Omar Khadr was visited by Canadian officials four times in four days, starting on 27 March 2003. Rather than asking about his health or if he wanted to send a message to his family, the Canadian officials interrogated him.
Canadian lawyers for Omar Khadr filed a lawsuit against the Canadian government, arguing that the authorities had violated the Canadian Constitution by "participating in interviews or interrogations without a lawyer being present, without [Omar Khadr] being allowed access to consular representation to get advice, without him being allowed to speak to family and friends".
Another lawsuit attempted to force the Canadian government to release all its files on Omar Khadr. The government argued that doing so would "be injurious to international relations, national defense or national security". A memo of William Hooper, Assistant Director of Operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which was made public as a result of this case, revealed the logic of the government’s neglect of the human rights of one of its citizens. It states that "any efforts to limit or fetter the service’s investigative powers… will hamper the service’s ability to advise the Canadian government".
The Canadian government has since written to Amnesty International stating that it has raised the allegations of abuse of Omar Khadr with the US government. It said it was engaged in "ongoing diplomatic discussions" with the US regarding his legal status and had requested an independent medical evaluation.
Legal issues
The US government alleges that Omar Khadr is an "al-Qa’ida fighter" and has classified him as an "enemy combatant". Despite this, it has refused to charge Omar Khadr with a recognizably criminal offence and give him a full and fair trial.
Instead, the US Department of Defense announced on 7 November 2005 that Omar Khadr is to be tried by military commission, though they will not seek the death penalty in his case. The military commissions are executive bodies with the power to hand down death sentences against which there is no right of appeal to any court. The military commissions are fundamentally flawed and cannot provide fair trials in accordance with internationally recognized standards
Two letters on the Khadr Case
U.S. just won't listen on Khadr
Column, June 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Considering that all his friends had been killed in the attack by the US it is hardly surprising Khadr threw a grenade. In the following post there is a description by Amnesty International of Khadr's case. Of course his family is notorious and there is little doubt of their sympathy for jihad and the father was associated with Bin Laden. Perhaps this explains the lack of outrage of Canadians at what is happening.
James Travers described the murder allegation against the then 15-year-old Omar Khadr as follows: "Khadr has been held since 2002, when he allegedly threw a grenade, killing medic Christopher Speer, 28, who was attending to wounded Afghans."
As I understand the factual situation, Khadr and others (probably Al Qaeda) were in a house that was attacked by American and Afghan forces. A gun battle ensued and bombs were called in. Everyone in the house was killed except Khadr, who was badly wounded. It is in that context that it is alleged Khadr threw the grenade that killed the medic and blinded, in one eye, an American soldier.
I have been a criminal defence counsel for more than 40 years. The facts as I know them do not sound like the basis for a murder charge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Copeland, Toronto
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. left scrambling in wake of dismissal
June 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regardless of whether or not the charges against Omar Khadr go ahead, the whole idea that he is charged with murder and war crimes is rather surreal. He was 15 years old at the time. He was in a compound that was attacked by U.S. troops. Every other person whom he was with was killed. He was shot in the chest, twice.
Maybe Khadr threw a grenade and maybe he killed a U.S. soldier. But it was a war.
The whole thing reminds me of that great line from the Martin Sheen character in Apocalypse Now: "Charging a man with murder in this place is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kane Slater, Toronto
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Column, June 7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Considering that all his friends had been killed in the attack by the US it is hardly surprising Khadr threw a grenade. In the following post there is a description by Amnesty International of Khadr's case. Of course his family is notorious and there is little doubt of their sympathy for jihad and the father was associated with Bin Laden. Perhaps this explains the lack of outrage of Canadians at what is happening.
James Travers described the murder allegation against the then 15-year-old Omar Khadr as follows: "Khadr has been held since 2002, when he allegedly threw a grenade, killing medic Christopher Speer, 28, who was attending to wounded Afghans."
As I understand the factual situation, Khadr and others (probably Al Qaeda) were in a house that was attacked by American and Afghan forces. A gun battle ensued and bombs were called in. Everyone in the house was killed except Khadr, who was badly wounded. It is in that context that it is alleged Khadr threw the grenade that killed the medic and blinded, in one eye, an American soldier.
I have been a criminal defence counsel for more than 40 years. The facts as I know them do not sound like the basis for a murder charge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Copeland, Toronto
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. left scrambling in wake of dismissal
June 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regardless of whether or not the charges against Omar Khadr go ahead, the whole idea that he is charged with murder and war crimes is rather surreal. He was 15 years old at the time. He was in a compound that was attacked by U.S. troops. Every other person whom he was with was killed. He was shot in the chest, twice.
Maybe Khadr threw a grenade and maybe he killed a U.S. soldier. But it was a war.
The whole thing reminds me of that great line from the Martin Sheen character in Apocalypse Now: "Charging a man with murder in this place is like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kane Slater, Toronto
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Canada not speaking up for Guantanamo detainee.
Harper's silence on this matter is in contrast to his complaints about China who also hold a Canadian citizen they claim is a terrorist. The Liberal government has done nothing either. The Khadr family were certainly involved with Al Qaeda although one of the sons who was released also acted as a spy for the US. Omar has been in Guantanamo since he was 15!
Canada abandoning Guantanamo detainee, lawyers say
Last Updated: Friday, March 16, 2007 | 11:47 AM ET
CBC News
Defence lawyers for U.S. military detainee Omar Khadr say Canada isn't doing enough to protect the rights of one of its citizens.
Lt.-Cmdr. William Kuebler and Muneer Ahmad, the U.S. military and civilian lawyers for Khadr, are visiting Canada to raise awareness about their client.
Omar Khadr, seen in 2002, faces charges of murder. The U.S. military alleges that he killed an American medic in a grenade attack, which wounded several other American soldiers.
(Canadian Press) The 20-year-old is charged with the death of a U.S. soldier during a grenade attack in Afghanistan five years ago. He is being held at the U.S. detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
They say the fact that Khadr has been held at Guantanamo Bay for five years, while detainees from countries such as the U.K. and Australia have been released, shows Canada isn't doing enough for one of its own.
"One's treatment at Guantanamo varies considerably depending on your citizenship," Ahmad said.
"If you're British at Guantanamo, you get out. That's the historical record there. If you're an American citizen there, you also get out. If you're Canadian, you languish."
Continue Article
Britain refused to let its citizens be tried by the military commissions, while Australia reached a deal to allow an Australian detainee to serve his sentence at home if he's found guilty of attempted murder.
Don't punish him because of his family: lawyer
Ahmed acknowledged that Khadr's family is unpopular in Canada, but said he deserves the same treatment as every other Canadian.
"It's really a challenge for the liberal state of Canada to treat Omar as the individual that he is … and that he is deserving of the treatment that any Canadian citizen would receive," he said.
Kuebler, Khadr's military-appointed lawyer, said Ottawa must step in.
"The engagement by foreign governments whose citizens are detained at Guantanamo Bay is the most effective means of ensuring there is a fair process and … fair treatment," Kuebler said.
The lawyers said they still represented Khadr, even though his mother said last week that her son told her during a phone call he only wanted to be represented by his Canadian lawyer, Dennis Edney.
"We take Omar's statements as an expression of his frustration with this process," Kuebler said.
Ahmad said the U.S. defence team has had regular communication with the Canadian government, which has said it accepts American assurances Khadr is being treated humanely. Canada hasn't moved to seek Khadr's extradition and has been silent amid world condemnation of the prison camp.
Controversial tribunals
Khadr's defence team is expected to challenge the legitimacy of the military commission process and will argue that Khadr was legally and emotionally a child at the time he is alleged to have killed Sgt. Christopher Speer, who had a wife and two children.
Khadr's trial could begin within months.
In June 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that military commissions used to try inmates at Guantanamo Bay were illegal under American and international law.
Four months later, U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act, which allows the U.S. government to indefinitely hold foreigners who have been designated "enemy combatants" and use aggressive interrogation tactics.
Khadr and his family have been in the media spotlight since members of the family were captured during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in 2001 and the father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was shot and killed by Pakistani troops in 2003.
Khadr's older brother, Abdurahman, told CBC his family had ties to al-Qaeda and that he and his brothers attended terrorist training camps.
With files from the Canadian Press
Canada abandoning Guantanamo detainee, lawyers say
Last Updated: Friday, March 16, 2007 | 11:47 AM ET
CBC News
Defence lawyers for U.S. military detainee Omar Khadr say Canada isn't doing enough to protect the rights of one of its citizens.
Lt.-Cmdr. William Kuebler and Muneer Ahmad, the U.S. military and civilian lawyers for Khadr, are visiting Canada to raise awareness about their client.
Omar Khadr, seen in 2002, faces charges of murder. The U.S. military alleges that he killed an American medic in a grenade attack, which wounded several other American soldiers.
(Canadian Press) The 20-year-old is charged with the death of a U.S. soldier during a grenade attack in Afghanistan five years ago. He is being held at the U.S. detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
They say the fact that Khadr has been held at Guantanamo Bay for five years, while detainees from countries such as the U.K. and Australia have been released, shows Canada isn't doing enough for one of its own.
"One's treatment at Guantanamo varies considerably depending on your citizenship," Ahmad said.
"If you're British at Guantanamo, you get out. That's the historical record there. If you're an American citizen there, you also get out. If you're Canadian, you languish."
Continue Article
Britain refused to let its citizens be tried by the military commissions, while Australia reached a deal to allow an Australian detainee to serve his sentence at home if he's found guilty of attempted murder.
Don't punish him because of his family: lawyer
Ahmed acknowledged that Khadr's family is unpopular in Canada, but said he deserves the same treatment as every other Canadian.
"It's really a challenge for the liberal state of Canada to treat Omar as the individual that he is … and that he is deserving of the treatment that any Canadian citizen would receive," he said.
Kuebler, Khadr's military-appointed lawyer, said Ottawa must step in.
"The engagement by foreign governments whose citizens are detained at Guantanamo Bay is the most effective means of ensuring there is a fair process and … fair treatment," Kuebler said.
The lawyers said they still represented Khadr, even though his mother said last week that her son told her during a phone call he only wanted to be represented by his Canadian lawyer, Dennis Edney.
"We take Omar's statements as an expression of his frustration with this process," Kuebler said.
Ahmad said the U.S. defence team has had regular communication with the Canadian government, which has said it accepts American assurances Khadr is being treated humanely. Canada hasn't moved to seek Khadr's extradition and has been silent amid world condemnation of the prison camp.
Controversial tribunals
Khadr's defence team is expected to challenge the legitimacy of the military commission process and will argue that Khadr was legally and emotionally a child at the time he is alleged to have killed Sgt. Christopher Speer, who had a wife and two children.
Khadr's trial could begin within months.
In June 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that military commissions used to try inmates at Guantanamo Bay were illegal under American and international law.
Four months later, U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act, which allows the U.S. government to indefinitely hold foreigners who have been designated "enemy combatants" and use aggressive interrogation tactics.
Khadr and his family have been in the media spotlight since members of the family were captured during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan in 2001 and the father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was shot and killed by Pakistani troops in 2003.
Khadr's older brother, Abdurahman, told CBC his family had ties to al-Qaeda and that he and his brothers attended terrorist training camps.
With files from the Canadian Press
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