Omar Khadr to Face Military Tribunal: US Justice on Trial

by Barbara McPherson | April 27, 2010 at 08:24 am

492 views | 28 Recommendations | 8 comments

Omar Khadr will face a military tribunal this week to decide his fate. Will he be sentenced to life in prison? Will he be repatriated to Canada? Will he go free?

In this long sorry saga of Guantanamo Prison in Cuba, Omar Khadr has been a most unfortunate pawn. Omar Khadr is accused of throwing a grenade during a fire fight in Afghanistan in which a US soldier was killed. Omar Khadr was seriously wounded during the gun battle and subsequently lost the sight in one eye. Omar Khadr was 15 years old at the time.

His defence team says the interrogations began as Khadr lay shackled to a stretcher at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan, regaining consciousness in a hospital for the first time since U.S. soldiers shot him during the gunfight a week earlier.

Defence lawyers say that during at least 142 interrogations at Bagram and Guantanamo, Khadr was beaten, doused in freezing water, spat on, chained in painful positions, forced to urinate on himself, terrorized by barking dogs, subjected to flashing lights and sleep deprivation and threatened with rape.

Prosecutors contend Khadr was treated humanely and has fabricated the abuse allegations.

The US forces invaded Afghanistan along with other NATO forces in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Omar Khadr's family is a well known supporter of Osama bin Laden and his father, Ahmed Said Khadr was an alleged financier of the terrorist group al-Qaida. Omar Khadr's mother resides in Canada and is an outspoken supporter of Osama bin Laden. When Khadr was shot and captured he was 15 years old.

Omar Khadr's Journey

Omar Khadr was then transferred out of Afghanistan and imprisoned in the offshore, black prison in Cuba. Because it was not technically on US soil, human rights as we know them in the West did not have to be observed. This prison was set up by the US military to hold those considered to be dangerous terrorists. This prison was for dangerous men. Omar Khadr was 15 at the time. He has now been imprisoned in an offshore prison for men for nearly eight years.

Canada's Role in this Miscarriage of Justice
The government of Canada has refused to ask for Omar Khadr's repatriation. He remains the only Western captive still in Guantanamo Prison. Canada's Supreme Court ruled in January that Omar Khadr's rights had been violated yet the federal government refuses to request repatriation.

What is a Child Soldier?

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (2000)
The protocol sets 18 as the minimum age for direct participation in hostilities, for recruitment into armed groups, and for compulsory recruitment by governments.

Child soldiers are not to be treated like those older than 18 but are to be rehabilitated. The US and Canada are signatories to this agreement.

Omar Khadr was 15 when he was imprisoned at Guantanamo Military Prison in Cuba.

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Amy Judd

at 08:51 on April 27th, 2010

I can't see him being set free, I bet he will be moved to another facility.

jjohn (not verified)

at 18:34 on April 27th, 2010

he killed an american. he should die

t k kidwai

at 20:13 on April 27th, 2010

He did a good job by killing an American soldier.I wish he could have killed more soldiers like Vietnamese.

Jordan Yerman

at 10:02 on April 27th, 2010

I understand that the prosecution denies the torture allegations, but Guantanamo Bay's reputation precedes it.

Acharn (not verified)

at 23:20 on April 29th, 2010

As does the presence of shrapnel still in his eyes. What's that all about? Deliberate withholding of medical care? This case has stunk to high heaven for years. Out of 750 people processed through Guantanamo, 550 have already been released (mostly by the Bush/Cheney/Addington administration). Since Obama took over, out of 43 habeas corpus cases, the judge has ruled in 34 cases that the government has not presented a plausible reason for detaining the suspects. In many of those cases the judge has rebuked the prosecutors for wasting tje court's time with cases where the evidence was so obviously worthless they should never have contested the case in court anyway. We now know that Bush/Cheey/Addington knew that the people in Guantanamo had not committed any crimes against the U.S. and also were not valuable intelligence sources. In this case we are bound by treaty (law of the land) to release and rehabilitate Khadr. So much for Obama's "look forward, not back." Oh, yeah, and so much for "return to the rule of law."

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 15:00 on April 27th, 2010

This will actually be a test of the Military Commission Act of 2009, which was signed into law by President Obama. Under this act evidence obtained through cruel and inhumane treatment is inadmissable.

The actual trial isn't scheduled until about July this year. This pre-trial will determine what evidence is admissable.

t k kidwai

at 20:30 on April 27th, 2010

The torture Omar Khadr underwent like thousands and thousands of prisoners in detention centres is a sordid commentary on Justice system or its mockery.Justice denied is justice done in the eyes of our permanent tormentors,the ruling elite.

State's duty is to protect the interests of those who manage its affairs and if it requires denial of justice to vast majority of population,the state can not shirk its responsibility.

Even if Omar Khadr is set free,or imprisoned for life,none is of any serious consequences to our (in)justice system.

Phylis George (not verified)

at 06:33 on May 12th, 2010

Omar is accused of throwing a grenade during a firefight. If that is murder, then the majority of the soldiers we have sent to Afghanistan and Iraq--in fact, the majority of all soldiers in all wars throughout history--are guilty of murder. In a war, you shoot guns and lob grenades and drop bombs on people. And if you capture a soldier from the other side, you don't try him for murder because he shot at you.