Omar Khadr returns to Canada from Guantanamo Bay

[Mazmaz]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/...atriation.html

Youngest and last Western detainee at U.S. naval base taken to Millhaven prison


Omar Khadr has been returned to Canada and is being held at a maximum-security prison in eastern Ontario, after spending a decade at a U.S.-run detention camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Khadr, 26, left the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo early Saturday and arrived at Canadian Forces Base Trenton before being transferred to the Millhaven Institution in Bath, Ont., to serve the balance of his sentence for war crimes.

"Omar Khadr is a known supporter of the al-Qaeda terrorist network and a convicted terrorist," Toews said.

"I am satisfied the Correctional Service of Canada can administer Omar Khadr’s sentence in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed and ensure the safety of Canadians is protected during incarceration.

"Any decisions related to his future will be determined by the independent Parole Board of Canada in accordance with Canadian law," Toews said.

Khadr received consular 'welfare' visit

Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg told CBC News "it had become clear the repatriation was about to happen."

Rosenberg said Khadr recently got a consular "welfare" visit from a Canadian diplomatic official in advance of his return.

Under a plea deal with prosecutors in October 2010, Khadr admitted to being responsible for the death of American Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer.

In exchange for that plea, he was promised he would be transferred to Canada to serve out the rest of his sentence.

He agreed to a sentence of eight years, with no credit for time served, with the first year spent in U.S. custody.

The U.S. defence department issued a statement Saturday referring to the five war crimes to which Khadr pleaded guilty before a military commission:

murder in violation of the law of war
attempted murder in violation of the law of war
conspiracy
providing material support for terrorism
spying

"Today, 166 detainees remain in detention at Guantanamo Bay," the statement said.

Khadr's Canadian co-counsel, Brydie Bethel, told CBC News that he is "very relieved that he's finally back in his home country... It's obviously a huge day for Omar. He has been anxiously awaiting this day for over a decade."

News that Khadr was back in Canada caught his relatives in Toronto off guard.

"Do you know where he is so we can maybe go see him?" one close relative asked a Canadian Press reporter.

NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar said an agreement with the Americans to transfer Khadr to a Canadian prison was reached a year ago, but "the Conservatives dragged their feet on it," until now.

"There was a lot of pressure from the Americans for us to actually do our job and take care of our business and have one of our citizens return home.

"We were the only [Western] country who had a citizen, a national, left in Guantanamo Bay and this has been ongoing for years. It was inevitable that he would come home," Dewar said.

Eligible for parole next year

Bethell said she had no idea why it took Minister Toews so long to make the decision to bring Khadr home.

"He mishandled the file and he knows it... the good news for all Canadians is that justice has prevailed over politics today," she told CBC News.

Now that he's at Millhaven, he can apply for parole next year under Canadian law.

Khadr was 15 when he was found badly injured in the rubble of a bombed-out compound near Khost, Afghanistan. He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay a few months later, accused of throwing the grenade that killed Speer.

"I am very satisfied, even if [the repatriation] is done in the dead of night and on a weekend to avoid media attention," said Senator Romeo Dallaire, who recently wrote a book about the use of child soldiers.

Khadr was the youngest and last Western detainee to be released from the naval base, which opened in January 2002.
Amongst other things, Khadr was held in stress positions, threatened with rape and deprived of sleep during some of his years in custody.

"Because he was a child soldier, Canada would have an obligation to provide rehabilitation and counselling to him under international law," constitutional and human rights lawyer Paul Champ said.

Khadr 'idealizes father', Toews says

Liberal Party leader Bob Rae said the repatration of Khadr was "long overdue."

"It is extremely unfortunate that it took the Conservative government this long to fulfil its responsibility to bring him back to Canada... Now Mr. Khadr will serve the remainder of his sentence under the supervision of the Canadian correctional system, and we can ensure that he receives proper treatment and rehabilitation," he said.

Toews said, however, he has concerns as to whether the parole board can "effectively administer" Khadr's sentence.

The minister said Khadr "idealizes his father" and appears to deny Ahmed Khadr's "lengthy history of terrorist action and association with al-Qaeda.

He also said Omar Khadr's mother and older sister have "openly applauded his crimes and terrorist activities."

'A model prisoner'

Khadr's Canadian co-counsel Brydie, however, says that he was "nothing short of a model prisoner while at Guantanamo... he will not be a management problem."

She and her co-counsel, John Norris, have spent "hundreds of hours" getting to know the real Khadr, Bethell added.

"It is nothing like the scare tactics that this government has tried to use in their portrayal of Omar... He wants to go to school, he wants to become a contributing member of society."

Norris said he doesn't understand why the government continues to "demonize" Khadr and "stoke public opinion against him."

"We know him to be a kind, intelligent, thoughtful young man who has tremendous potential and we know that he will live up to that."

Khadr was born in Toronto but spent much of his childhood in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A year after his capture, his al-Qaeda financier father was killed in a military ambush in Pakistan.

[Mazmaz]

If you don't know anything about Omar Khadr:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Doc+Zone/ID/1233753588/

[Rhyis.]

Is this that 16 year old that got tossed in there? I remember a big brouhaha when it went down. His father was a known terrorist but CSIS believed Omar had no knowledge of his fathers involvement in al-Qaeda. After Omar got tossed in Guantanamo and was tortured, he signed some document where he confessed to something or other.

The whole thing seemed shady from the get go so there was a lot of talk about the story. Had a very 1942 Jap-American internment camp feel (obviously on a smaller scale) to it and I was pretty sick to my stomach when I first heard about it.

[Mazmaz]

Actually, he was 15 when he was captured. They waited until he was 16 to send him to Guantanamo so that he'd be placed in with the adults instead of the juveniles.

If you don't know anything about Omar Khadr:
http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Doc+Zone/ID/1233753588/

[Rhyis.]

Probably why I remembered 16 then. I'll watch the vid later.

I'm curious about any American opinions that people may have about the subject. Canadians in general seem pretty outraged by the whole thing.

[BaneTheBrawler]

My official American opinion? Don't care.

Pretty much our standard reaction to anything not directly impacting our lives.

[Acevalefor]

This guy is caught up in the propaganda campaign that uses the word terrorist to describe anyone who dissents. Crimes of the Father comes to mind when reading about this. Also; Collin Powell, Bush Jr., etc.

[tyven]

Crimes of the throwing a grenade variety also come to mind

[Rhyis.]

The evidence supports that to be fabricated.