Canada’s Alberta Court delayed the bail ruling for former Guantanamo inmate Omar Khadr until Thursday, as the judge weighs arguments for and against. The government claims Khadr’s release would damage Canadian relations with certain countries.
UPDATE:Canadian court releases former Gitmo detainee on bail
Court of Appeal Justice Myra Bielby said she needed more time
before deciding whether to grant the government’s last ditch
effort to keep Khadr behind bars, despite the lower court’s
earlier order to free him.
The issue being debated is the April 24 order from Court of
Queen’s Bench Justice June Ross, which ruled that Khadr, 28,
should be granted bail as he waits for the appeal of his war
crimes conviction in the US.
Khadr was scheduled to be released on Tuesday to live with the
family of his lawyer Dennis Edney. This would have been the first
time the man, who was captured at the age of 15 and jailed in
America’s notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, got a glimpse of
freedom in 13 years.
The government lawyers filed an emergency motion to keep Khadr in
prison until the appeal of his bail order can be heard.
Federal Crown prosecutor Bruce Hughson argued that releasing the
Canadian citizen would cause “irreparable harm” to
Ottawa’s diplomatic relations with other nations, when it comes
to transferring Canadians home to serve the rest of their
sentences.
“This is a high-profile case that has garnered not only national,
but international attention,” Hughson said. “The risk to
Canada’s prison transfer system is clearly set out in the
affidavit.”
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However, during the cross examination by Khadr’s lawyer Nathan
Whitling, a senior Corrections Canada official in charge of
dealing with the transfer of prisoners, Lee Redpath, said that
there was no real evidence that Khadr’s release would harm
relations. He did admit that a theoretical possibility exists.
Moreover, defense argued that Khadr’s case could not even be used
as a precedent for others in the future because it is very unique
due to the controversial plea deal in Guantanamo and the pending
review of the legality of the conviction in the US.
Meanwhile, Hughson maintained that “springing” Khadr
from prison is not in anyone’s best interests, adding that it
would be better for him to be slowly reintegrated into society.
Omar Khadr was just 15 years old when he was detained by American
forces in Afghanistan in 2002 and taken to the Bagram Air Base,
then Guantanamo, where he later pleaded guilty to murder in
violation of the laws of war. Khadr tossed a grenade that killed
Sgt. Christopher Speer, according to military prosecutors.
What #OmarKhadr looks like vs what media draws him like (and prefers to use over real pictures). #Khadrpic.twitter.com/t2qiOoVQR9
— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) May 5, 2015
After being transferred to Canadian custody in 2012, Khadr said
he pleaded guilty to war crimes because he was “left with a
hopeless choice” of either accepting the charges or risk
facing “continued abuse and torture” at the hands of his
Gitmo jailers.
Edney was disappointed with the decision to postpone the bail
ruling. “I’d like to grab him, throw him in the car, take him
home,” he told journalists outside the court on Tuesday.
“My wife has been preparing dinner for tonight.”
He referred to the government’s arguments as “all smoke and
mirrors.”
“They want to drag it out even more. Why? Just because they
can’t stand seeing that young Muslim boy out there – and the
government and the public will get to see the real person that he
is.”
READ MORE: 'Freedom in jeopardy': Thousands rally across Canada against new anti-terror law
Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has been pursuing a
tough stance on terror by supporting things like giving more
powers to the Canadian intelligence services and the police
forces. Some of those efforts are reflected by higher military
spending and the Bill C51, otherwise known as the anti-terror
bill.
Moreover, some reports in the Canadian media suggest that Harper
would like to use the Khadr issue as a political wedge in the
upcoming fall general elections since the latter’s fate provokes
starkly different opinions.
If the judge decides to proceed with the bail on Thursday, it
will be under strict conditions. Khadr will have to wear an
electronic monitoring bracelet and only be allowed limited and
supervised time with his family and the internet. All the
conversations with his family would have to be in English.
Bielby’s bail decision is scheduled to be delivered at 9:30am
local time on Thursday.