The Khadr Thread

[Edward Campbell]

My guess:

1. A fairly small minority of Canadians (probably < 25%) care deeply about Mr. Khadr's rights and they want him returned to Canada because, in the main, they believe his rights have been violated, continuously  and systematically, by the Canadian and US governments. This minority is, generally, well educated, vocal, persuasive and anti-Conservative;

2. A somewhat larger (likely > 25%) care deeply about the entire Khadr clan and their perceived abuse of Canada's legal/moral 'system.' This minority wants Khard punished, harshly, for whatever he may have done or even for what he may not have done. They are, in part, trying to punish Khadr senior, al Kanadi or whatever he was called, and the other Khadrs, mère et fille  especially, for their trash talking directed towards Canada, at large, and their (perceived, again) abuse of our hospitality and social services. This minority is, largely, pro-Conservative;

3. The largest segment of Canadians (say 50%±) could care less what happens to Khadr, here, in the USA or back in Afghanistan. They believe, broadly, that he has forfeited whatever rights and legal protections he undoubtedly had when he was an adolescent and they are not interested in giving him a break. Conversely, if the US wants to wash its hands of him they are not unwilling to allow him one, last chance here in Canada. This is the majority with the votes Harper needs.

 

[GAP]

So fine....the US does not want him, Canada does not want him, send him back to where the crime occured and let him be judged under their laws....it is now a democracy....

 

[Fishbone Jones]

So fine....the US does not want him, Canada does not want him, send him back to where the crime occured and let him be judged under their laws....it is now a democracy....

ditto

 

[The Bread Guy]

This, from CanWest:

Prosecutors are confident they can convict Canadian terrorism suspect Omar Khadr of murder, even if his case is transferred from a military to civilian court.

Khadr's U.S. defence lawyers have been preparing motions at two levels of the U.S. civilian court system as they seek to derail hearings next week that will lead to his trial in July at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

But a new option also appears possible against the backdrop of White House talks with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, whose main goal is to see the cases of Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his four accused co-conspirators in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, taken out of the civilian courts and returned to the military commissions.

That option is to transfer Khadr, who faces serious but far less extensive charges than the 9/11 five, to the federal system ....

 

[The Bread Guy]

This from the Toronto Star ....

Military prosecutors offered a sentence of five years in a U.S. prison if Canadian detainee Omar Khadr pleads guilty to war crime offences, the Toronto Star has learned.

Sources close to the case who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity said the offer was turned down, clearing the way for pre-trial hearings Wednesday morning.

It is uncertain whether the proposed sentence would have meant that the Toronto-born detainee would stay here – if Guantanamo’s prison remains open – or have been transferred to a U.S. federal penitentiary.

His lawyers say they will push for Khadr to return to Canada ....

and this from Reuters:

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the Guantanamo tribunals have been trying to negotiate a deal that would let Canadian captive Omar Khadr plead guilty to reduced charges in exchange for leniency, a defense attorney said.

A plea deal would spare President Barack Obama from presiding as military commander in chief over the first U.S. war crimes tribunal to prosecute someone for acts allegedly committed as a minor.

Now 23, Khadr was 15 years old when captured and has spent a third of his life locked up at Guantanamo. He is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. special forces soldier during a firefight at a suspected al Qaeda compound near the Afghan city of Khost in July 2002.

Defense lawyer Barry Coburn said on Tuesday evening that plea discussions were ongoing.

"As of right now there is no deal. We are always open to discussion and we're hopeful of reaching a resolution," Coburn told reporters at Guantanamo ....

If you believe TorStar, we'll see this morning....

 

[ModlrMike]

Which still begs the question: what do we do with him once the let him out? I don't know if there's anything in the Citizenship Act that would allow us to strip him of his birthright and subsequently deport him (back to Afghanistan).

 

[gcclarke]

Which still begs the question: what do we do with him once the let him out? I don't know if there's anything in the Citizenship Act that would allow us to strip him of his birthright and subsequently deport him (back to Afghanistan).

No person can be stripped of Canadian citizenship for any reason other than a conviction of fraud in relation to their citizenship application or their application to be admitted as an immigrant to the country. As Mr. Khadr became a citizen at birth, the only way he could become a non-citizen would be to voluntarily renounce his citizenship. Of course before that, he would first also have to become a citizen of another country, and as far as I'm aware, he never became a citizen of Afghanistan.

As for any deportation, you can only deport someone to a country that they're a citizen of. Maybe Cuba, as he's been living there long enough?

Regardless, I am appalled at the mess that has been made of this case. The man has been in detention for almost 8 bloody years without a trial. Put another way, he's been in detention for one third of his life, without being convicted of anything. Let's get it done with already so he can serve whatever time he's sentenced to and we can all move on.

 

[George Wallace]

Now.  If he gets brought back to Canada for Trial, what is the likelihood that if sentenced, he will be free due to "time served"?

 

[The Bread Guy]

Now.  If he gets brought back to Canada for Trial, what is the likelihood that if sentenced, he will be free due to "time served"?

I'd bet QUITE likely - although probation under strict controls would not be out of the question (better than nothing).

The latest - taking a break to read the new pam:

A military judge postponed the war crimes hearing Wednesday morning for Canadian detainee Omar Khadr to give lawyers four hours to read the military commission rules.

Congress approved amendments last year to the Military Commissions Act, which was introduced under the Bush administration.

But the manual of how the new law would be implemented was not completed and delivered here until Tuesday night, following a press conference where defence lawyers decried the delay.

Court will resume at 1 p.m. ....

...while word is Khadr Boy & Co. reportedly rejected a five-year deal:

Military prosecutors offered a sentence of five years in a U.S. prison if Canadian detainee Omar Khadr pleads guilty to war crime offences, the Toronto Star has learned.

Sources close to the case who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity said the offer was turned down, clearing the way for pre-trial hearings Wednesday morning.

It is uncertain whether the proposed sentence would have meant that the Toronto-born detainee would stay here – if Guantanamo’s prison remains open – or have been transferred to a U.S. federal penitentiary .....

 

[OldSolduer]

Now.  If he gets brought back to Canada for Trial, what is the likelihood that if sentenced, he will be free due to "time served"?

I wouldn't bet against it.

 

[GAP]

Khadr's health becomes issue at U.S. base hearings
By Steven Edwards, Canwest News ServiceApril 29, 2010
Article Link

U.S. NAVAL BASE GUANTANAMO, Cuba — A battle over Omar Khadr's objection to wearing blinder goggles during transfer to court erupted Thursday into claims the Canadian-born terror suspect is suffering terrible pain because of his shrapnel-injured eyes.

Barry Coburn, Khadr's chief U.S. attorney, called for a hearing on the health of the 23-year-old, who sat slumped over the defence bench for much of the afternoon after staying away from the morning session.

"The judge is responsible for essentially all aspects of the fairness of this proceeding," he told reporters attending the hearings at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "You can't have a fair trial unless the defendant can participate actively."

Both Khadr's eyes are afflicted with conjunctivitis, which is commonly known as pink eye, Coburn said. But he explained that what would typically provoke simple irritation in most people is compounded for Khadr, whose eyes suffered shrapnel wounds in the 2002 firefight in Afghanistan that led to his capture.

"There should be a substantial attempt made in order to alleviate the pain," Coburn said. "There may be all kinds of things that could be attempted in terms of medicating him."

But U.S. army Col. Patrick Parrish, the military judge in the case, was unconvinced during the hearing that Khadr's health condition played any role in his absence from the morning session.

He made the declaration after a member of the guard force testified Khadr had not turned up because he'd refused to don the goggles and earmuffs detainees are obliged to wear when being transported beyond their detention camps.

"This court is not going to (get) involved with allowing a detainee to set the conditions for how he is transported," Parrish said. "That is not going to happen."

Parrish signalled the guard force had the right to impose any reasonable security measures.

Court heard early Thursday that Khadr had begun the day complaining of pain in his left eye, in which he is blind because of the battlefield injuries.

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Laura Bruzzese said she arranged to take him to hospital, where he received painkilling eye-drops before being released.

Khadr had proceeded to the point of getting into the van for the trip to court, but then refused to put on the goggles and earmuffs, pointing out the rear of the vehicle was windowless, and therefore prevented him from seeing anything anyway, Bruzzese told the court.

"The only reason (for our having to) put it on is to humiliate us," she quoted Khadr as saying about the goggles.
More on link

 

[1feral1]

Which still begs the question: what do we do with him once they let him out?

He just disappears one day on the way to collect/cash his dole/welfare cheque?


Tongue in cheek comment 

OWDU

 

[Edward Campbell]

He just disappears one day on the way to collect/cash his dole/welfare cheque?


Tongue in cheek comment 

OWDU

The comment may have been made "tongue in cheek" but I suspect it is prophetic.

I think, I'm more than happy to be corrected, that the rest of the Khadr clan already lives on 'welfare' of one sort or another. Why would the baby of the family be any different?

 

[nathan lehr]

The families and comrades of our fallen soldiers must be Heartbroken over this garbage 

 

[OldSolduer]

The families and comrades of our fallen soldiers must be Heartbroken over this garbage

Not so much heartbroken as p*ssed at the kid glove treatment him and his family have received.

 

[KevinB]

I seriously cannot beleive that this guy still draws breath.

Come on all ready lets flip the switch

 

[The Bread Guy]

This from the Ottawa Citizen:

The Conservative government rejects the notion Omar Khadr's legal team can draw it into plea-deal talks for the Canadian-born terror suspect, saying no talks are authorized involving Canada -- secret or otherwise.

The position expressed Sunday by senior federal officials comes after Khadr's lawyers said Canada would be "simultaneously" involved in a "quadrilateral" effort to resolve his war crimes prosecution before the military commissions at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay.

Beyond the defence and the prosecution, the fourth participant would be the Obama administration, which is said to be "actively seeking" a plea deal for Khadr.

(....)

The government feels it is in a legally strong position after the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a bid by Khadr's lawyers to have the federal government formally request his release from U.S. custody, one of the officials explained.

Absent any new court order, Canada does not feel the need to participate in talks that would lead it to compromise on its policy.

The officials insisted that Canada has not been involved in any of the plea deal talks that Khadr's defence lawyers and the U.S. government have said were taking place.

What's more, Canada would consider studying ways to resist any prisoner transfer application that Khadr's lawyers may make should he receive a prison sentence to a U.S. prison after registering a guilty plea ....

 

[The Bread Guy]

From CBC.ca:

The lawyer for Omar Khadr told CBC News on Wednesday he's willing to do whatever it takes — including have his client live with him in Edmonton — to get Khadr out of detainment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Dennis Edney has represented Khadr, who was born in Toronto, since 2002, when Khadr was put behind bars and accused of throwing a hand grenade that killed an American soldier in Afghanistan. Khadr, who is now 23, was 15 years old at the time.

Since then, Khadr has been held in captivity at a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Edney is travelling to Cuba on Thursday and will try to negotiate conditions of Khadr's release ....

Good luck with that...

 

[Kat Stevens]

I'll take the liberty of speaking for my fellow Albertans:  frig off, we're full.


*I did not type "frig", "frig"ging censorship bots can frig off too*

 

[Dennis Ruhl]

including have his client live with him in Edmonton

NOOOooooo! -  Toronto?