Khadr Sentenced To 40 Years By Military Tribunal

[Bill Sikes]

His whole family apparently are open supporters of Al-Quieda, open supporters of an organization sworn to destroy our country and way of life should either be charged with treason or deported, his father should definitely be charged with treason (for turning his son into a weapon to be used against Canada) as well as child abuse and child endangerment (Al-Quieda has a history of using children as soldiers and suicide bombers).

[MJAL]

His whole family apparently are open supporters of Al-Quieda, open supporters of an organization sworn to destroy our country and way of life should either be charged with treason or deported, his father should definitely be charged with treason (for turning his son into a weapon to be used against Canada) as well as child abuse and child endangerment (Al-Quieda has a history of using children as soldiers and suicide bombers).

[stawns]

His whole family apparently are open supporters of Al-Quieda, open supporters of an organization sworn to destroy our country and way of life should either be charged with treason or deported, his father should definitely be charged with treason (for turning his son into a weapon to be used against Canada) as well as child abuse and child endangerment (Al-Quieda has a history of using children as soldiers and suicide bombers).

[Bill Sikes]

oh god.........take your head out of your a$$. The ignorance in this post is startling.

[Sharpshooter]

So you think it is acceptable to take your child to a foreign country to train with a terrorist group that your country is currently engaged against? Filling your kids head with hate for his own country and its allies is ok with you? That is the very definition of treason and child abuse, putting your kid in the line of fire on purpose certainly qualifies as child endangerment to me. Your ignorance is what is startling.

[stawns]

So you think it is acceptable to take your child to a foreign country to train with a terrorist group that your country is currently engaged against? Filling your kids head with hate for his own country and its allies is ok with you? That is the very definition of treason and child abuse, putting your kid in the line of fire on purpose certainly qualifies as child endangerment to me. Your ignorance is what is startling.

[Wetcoaster]

His whole family apparently are open supporters of Al-Quieda, open supporters of an organization sworn to destroy our country and way of life should either be charged with treason or deported, his father should definitely be charged with treason (for turning his son into a weapon to be used against Canada) as well as child abuse and child endangerment (Al-Quieda has a history of using children as soldiers and suicide bombers).

[ronthecivil]

His father, Ahmed Said Khadr is dead - I suspect there would be a problem charging with and convicting him of treason.

There is also the issue of whether or not treason charges as opposed to terrorism charges would lie.

Canadian citizens cannot be deported unless first stripped of their Canadian citizenship and and as I read the the Citizenship Act there are no grounds to strip any of the naturalized Khadr family.

And natural born Canadians such as Omar Khadr cannot have their citizenship stripped.

[JAH]

Which is odd considering that people that went out of there way to get citizenship (immigrants) can despite someone that was born here than raised somewhere else and didn't do anything to get said citizenship can not. If anyone can have their citezenship stripped then everyone should - the rules should be the same for everyone.

[Wetcoaster]

With the release of the diplomatic notes and other documents between the US and Canada by the military tribunal, the past and continuing claims by the Canadian government that it was not involved in the plea deal seem completely untenable (NOTE - polite way of saying the government lied through its teeth).

November 1, 2010

Tories under fire over Khadr plea deal

By CBC News

CBC News

Opposition MPs are accusing the Conservative government of deliberately misleading Canadians on Canada's involvement in a plea deal between Omar Khadr and the U.S. government.

Opposition MPs are accusing the Conservative government of deliberately misleading Canadians on its involvement in a plea deal between Omar Khadr and the U.S. government.

A U.S. State Department memorandum reveals the Canadian government was aware of Khadr's plea deal, contradicting repeated denials by the Conservatives that such a deal had been made.

Canadian officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, repeatedly said before, during and after Khadr's hearing in front of a U.S. military commission in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that Canada wasn't involved in any plea agreement.

But NDP MP Wayne Marston said the document shows that either Cannon doesn't know what's going on in his own department or was disingenuous in his statements to the House of Commons about the deal.

"The documents lay out the fact that his department was aware of what was going on with Khadr and agreed with the plea deal, and he said in the House that wasn't the case," Marston told CBC News on Monday on Parliament Hill.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague said the Conservatives clearly didn't want Canadians to see the documents.

Cannon, he said, "has not taken the liberty of disclosing, refused to acknowledge and yet the document does demonstrate that the government has entered into a plea bargain."

Plea deal has 8-year sentence cap

The Toronto-born Khadr, now 24, was sentenced Sunday to 40 years in prison for war crimes, including the murder of U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.

But the decision by a U.S. military panel was largely symbolic, as a pretrial plea deal capped Khadr's sentence at eight years, with the first year to be served at the naval base detention centre.

According to the State Department memorandum, Canada and the United States exchanged two diplomatic notes on Oct. 23, two days before Khadr pleaded guilty to five criminal charges, including the murder of Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer during a battle in Afghanistan in July 2002.

The Canadian Embassy in Washington said in a memo dated Oct. 23 the Canadian government "is inclined to favourably consider" a request for a transfer to Canada for Khadr to serve the rest of his sentence after another year at Guantanamo.

Khadr pleaded guilty to five charges brought by the U.S. military in 2002 when he was 15 years old. He has been in custody since then at the U.S. detention centre in Guantanamo Bay.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/11/01/khadr-plea-politics-hill-reax.html

And as reported by CTV on the knowledge of the Canadian government, the fact that Khadr pled guilty despite his innocence (and clear eveidence that would raise a doubt as to murder in any real court) to get out of the hellhole of Gitmo and the bizarre sentence imposed by the "jury":

CTV.ca News Staff

Despite repeated assertions from Canadian officials that Ottawa had given no assurance that Omar Khadr can be repatriated, newly released diplomatic memos show the government agreed to "favourably" consider a request to transfer him back to Canada.

Khadr, a Canadian-born citizen imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, pleaded guilty last week to five war-crimes charges, including murder in connection with the death of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer.

He was sentenced to eight years and was told he would be allowed to apply to serve out the remainder of his sentence in Canada, after serving one more year in Guantanamo Bay.

Over the weekend, a military jury, whose members were not aware of the plea deal, recommended a 40-year sentence for the 24-year-old, though he will only serve the eight-year sentence agreed to under the plea deal.

Canada, and specifically Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, have repeatedly said Khadr was America's problem and no talks were underway to have him serve out his sentence here.

Documents published by the Miami Herald, however, show Khadr was the subject of diplomatic memos on Oct. 23.

The documents say the Government of Canada was "inclined to favourably consider" allowing Khadr to serve out his sentence here.

"The Government of Canada shares the view of the United States that were Mr. Khadr to request a transfer to Canada to serve any part of his sentence in Canada, the United States and Canada could implement such a transfer," said the documents, part of a memorandum for Michael Bruhn, executive secretary to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The memo goes on to say Khadr would be subject to Canadian laws in terms of the remainder of his sentence and possible parole.

After Khadr pleaded guilty last week, his Canadian lawyer Denis Edney, said the entire trial was a mistake and his client should have been handled as a child soldier -- Khadr was 15 when he killed Speer.

Edney told the court his client was required, as part of the agreement, "to sign an admission of facts which was stunning in its false portrayal of him."

Amir Attaran, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, said he was "dumbfounded" when the military jury returned a recommended sentence of 40 years for Khadr.

"Even the prosecutor of Omar Khadr hadn't asked for a 40-year sentence. He said no more than 25 years, so even the prosecutor was taken aback by this," Attaran told CTV's Canada AM on Monday.

Attaran said the jury was comprised of "seven military officers in a military court on a military base and surprisingly they didn't exercise the discipline of officers."

"When the prosecution says 'cap it at 25 years, that's the maximum' and the jury disregards that and says 'we don't care, we're going to come up with a much larger number,' it doesn't suggest discipline on the part of the system it suggests a system that's really quite out of control," Attaran said.

This whole matter has been a travesty from start to finish. International law was disregarded and when the US could not get around the law they made up their own laws and definitions to preempt their civil courts from interfering with the kangaroo court and pre-ordained verdict.

That the government of Canada went along with this railroad job and unlike every other western government who pulled their citizens out of this illegal process (500 other detainees) refused to intervene claiming Khadr was being subjected to US justice is disgusting.

However as Canadian law will apply to Khadr once he is returned to Canada as noted in the CTV article:

The memo goes on to say Khadr would be subject to Canadian laws in terms of the remainder of his sentence and possible parole.

If Khadr returns to Canada (and that is not assured) it is possible that the National Parole Board might order his immediate release or failing that i would assume that his counsel will go to court to have him released relying upon the more than obvious Charter breaches.

Given the duplicitous manner in which the government has acted throughout in this matter, I would not be surprised if the Harper government refuses Khadr's application for transfer back to Canada when it is made. They certainly seem to be setting the groundwork for such a gambit.

While Khadr can apply to serve the remainder of his sentence in Canada as part of the "Treaty between Canada and the United States of America on the Execution of Penal Sentences" the Canadian government can say "No".

In response to a question about Khadr's return in the light of the diplomatic notes and memos just released Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was asked about Khadr's return. The response in an e-mail from Melissa Lantsman, Cannon's spokeswoman:

"We will not speculate on the transfer process. The process will take its course."

"Should Omar Khadr submit an application, he would be treated like any other Canadian who applies for a transfer. No decision can be made until an application is received."

Thus far Omar Khadr has not been treated "like any other Canadian" nor for that matter like any other citizen of a western democracy detained at Guantanamo Bay. I am less than hopeful this may change in future.

[stawns]

With the release of the diplomatic notes and other documents between the US and Canada by the military tribunal, the past and continuing claims by the Canadian government that it was not involved in the plea deal seem completely untenable (NOTE - polite way of saying the government lied through its teeth).

November 1, 2010

Tories under fire over Khadr plea deal

By CBC News

CBC News

Opposition MPs are accusing the Conservative government of deliberately misleading Canadians on Canada's involvement in a plea deal between Omar Khadr and the U.S. government.

Opposition MPs are accusing the Conservative government of deliberately misleading Canadians on its involvement in a plea deal between Omar Khadr and the U.S. government.

A U.S. State Department memorandum reveals the Canadian government was aware of Khadr's plea deal, contradicting repeated denials by the Conservatives that such a deal had been made.

Canadian officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, repeatedly said before, during and after Khadr's hearing in front of a U.S. military commission in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that Canada wasn't involved in any plea agreement.

But NDP MP Wayne Marston said the document shows that either Cannon doesn't know what's going on in his own department or was disingenuous in his statements to the House of Commons about the deal.

"The documents lay out the fact that his department was aware of what was going on with Khadr and agreed with the plea deal, and he said in the House that wasn't the case," Marston told CBC News on Monday on Parliament Hill.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague said the Conservatives clearly didn't want Canadians to see the documents.

Cannon, he said, "has not taken the liberty of disclosing, refused to acknowledge and yet the document does demonstrate that the government has entered into a plea bargain."

Plea deal has 8-year sentence cap

The Toronto-born Khadr, now 24, was sentenced Sunday to 40 years in prison for war crimes, including the murder of U.S. soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.

But the decision by a U.S. military panel was largely symbolic, as a pretrial plea deal capped Khadr's sentence at eight years, with the first year to be served at the naval base detention centre.

According to the State Department memorandum, Canada and the United States exchanged two diplomatic notes on Oct. 23, two days before Khadr pleaded guilty to five criminal charges, including the murder of Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer during a battle in Afghanistan in July 2002.

The Canadian Embassy in Washington said in a memo dated Oct. 23 the Canadian government "is inclined to favourably consider" a request for a transfer to Canada for Khadr to serve the rest of his sentence after another year at Guantanamo.

Khadr pleaded guilty to five charges brought by the U.S. military in 2002 when he was 15 years old. He has been in custody since then at the U.S. detention centre in Guantanamo Bay.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/11/01/khadr-plea-politics-hill-reax.html

And as reported by CTV on the knowledge of the Canadian government, the fact that Khadr pled guilty despite his innocence (and clear eveidence that would raise a doubt as to murder in any real court) to get out of the hellhole of Gitmo and the bizarre sentence imposed by the "jury":

CTV.ca News Staff

Despite repeated assertions from Canadian officials that Ottawa had given no assurance that Omar Khadr can be repatriated, newly released diplomatic memos show the government agreed to "favourably" consider a request to transfer him back to Canada.

Khadr, a Canadian-born citizen imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, pleaded guilty last week to five war-crimes charges, including murder in connection with the death of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer.

He was sentenced to eight years and was told he would be allowed to apply to serve out the remainder of his sentence in Canada, after serving one more year in Guantanamo Bay.

Over the weekend, a military jury, whose members were not aware of the plea deal, recommended a 40-year sentence for the 24-year-old, though he will only serve the eight-year sentence agreed to under the plea deal.

Canada, and specifically Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, have repeatedly said Khadr was America's problem and no talks were underway to have him serve out his sentence here.

Documents published by the Miami Herald, however, show Khadr was the subject of diplomatic memos on Oct. 23.

The documents say the Government of Canada was "inclined to favourably consider" allowing Khadr to serve out his sentence here.

"The Government of Canada shares the view of the United States that were Mr. Khadr to request a transfer to Canada to serve any part of his sentence in Canada, the United States and Canada could implement such a transfer," said the documents, part of a memorandum for Michael Bruhn, executive secretary to the U.S. Department of Defense.

The memo goes on to say Khadr would be subject to Canadian laws in terms of the remainder of his sentence and possible parole.

After Khadr pleaded guilty last week, his Canadian lawyer Denis Edney, said the entire trial was a mistake and his client should have been handled as a child soldier -- Khadr was 15 when he killed Speer.

Edney told the court his client was required, as part of the agreement, "to sign an admission of facts which was stunning in its false portrayal of him."

Amir Attaran, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, said he was "dumbfounded" when the military jury returned a recommended sentence of 40 years for Khadr.

"Even the prosecutor of Omar Khadr hadn't asked for a 40-year sentence. He said no more than 25 years, so even the prosecutor was taken aback by this," Attaran told CTV's Canada AM on Monday.

Attaran said the jury was comprised of "seven military officers in a military court on a military base and surprisingly they didn't exercise the discipline of officers."

"When the prosecution says 'cap it at 25 years, that's the maximum' and the jury disregards that and says 'we don't care, we're going to come up with a much larger number,' it doesn't suggest discipline on the part of the system it suggests a system that's really quite out of control," Attaran said.

This whole matter has been a travesty from start to finish. International law was disregarded and when the US could not get around the law they made up their own laws and definitions to preempt their civil courts from interfering with the kangaroo court and pre-ordained verdict.

That the government of Canada went along with this railroad job and unlike every other western government who pulled their citizens out of this illegal process (500 other detainees) refused to intervene claiming Khadr was being subjected to US justice is disgusting.

However as Canadian law will apply to Khadr once he is returned to Canada as noted in the CTV article:

The memo goes on to say Khadr would be subject to Canadian laws in terms of the remainder of his sentence and possible parole.

If Khadr returns to Canada (and that is not assured) it is possible that the National Parole Board might order his immediate release or failing that i would assume that his counsel will go to court to have him released relying upon the more than obvious Charter breaches.

Given the duplicitous manner in which the government has acted throughout in this matter, I would not be surprised if the Harper government refuses Khadr's application for transfer back to Canada when it is made. They certainly seem to be setting the groundwork for such a gambit.

While Khadr can apply to serve the remainder of his sentence in Canada as part of the "Treaty between Canada and the United States of America on the Execution of Penal Sentences" the Canadian government can say "No".

In response to a question about Khadr's return in the light of the diplomatic notes and memos just released Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon was asked about Khadr's return. The response in an e-mail from Melissa Lantsman, Cannon's spokeswoman:

"We will not speculate on the transfer process. The process will take its course."

"Should Omar Khadr submit an application, he would be treated like any other Canadian who applies for a transfer. No decision can be made until an application is received."

Thus far Omar Khadr has not been treated "like any other Canadian" nor for that matter like any other citizen of a western democracy detained at Guantanamo Bay. I am less than hopeful this may change in future.

[Sharpshooter]

*grabs popcorn*

Now we'll watch the back peddling, the side stepping and the reason's for plausible deniability from the gov't spin machine. Cannon is gonna be fodder.

You're right though WC, Harper may be moving this pawn and setting him up for transfer refusal. Khadr serves 8 years in the U.S. andHarper gets to finish his term without this hanging over his head, at least while in power. Like, we don't see what he's up to....'moran'.

[ronthecivil]

If you strip a naturally born citizen of his citizenship, and he does not have citizenship elsewhere, where do you send him? IIRC, creating a Stateless person is illegal under International Law.

Legally, it's a non-starter, but even if you could get past this, physically it's basically impossible.

[Sharpshooter]

If no one else will have 'em jail. I don't know. Don't we owe China some people? Put them in a boat and drop them off there. They can declare refugee status or whatever. I don't care.

In the case of Kadr family, see if pakistan wants them since they have been there a few times.

[Wetcoaster]

Which is odd considering that people that went out of there way to get citizenship (immigrants) can despite someone that was born here than raised somewhere else and didn't do anything to get said citizenship can not. If anyone can have their citezenship stripped then everyone should - the rules should be the same for everyone.

[Wetcoaster]

If he applies for a transfer and is rejected, is he able to make another attempt.......say when another gov't is elected?

[Wetcoaster]

You know full well , it doesn't work like that. Stick to what's plausible...and real, under the current laws.

[Sharpshooter]

Or he applies to the courts for an order compelling the government to approve a transfer on the theory that the diplomatic notes create a "legitimate expectation" that the government will exercise its discretion favourably.

[ronthecivil]

Why change from the usual diet of bizarre tangents and playing silly bugger?

[ronthecivil]

You know full well , it doesn't work like that. Stick to what's plausible...and real, under the current laws.