Omar Khadr in Canadian prison after return from Guantanamo Bay
The Globe and Mail
Canadian convicted terrorist Omar Khadr is back in Canada after a
decade in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and a year after he was eligible for
repatriation.
A Pentagon source told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Khadr departed from the U.S. naval base before 4:30 a.m. Saturday aboard a U.S. military plane.
That plane landed at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., about three hours later. A shackled Mr. Khadr was then put in a van and driven away with an Ontario Provincial Police escort, CTV news reported. He was taken to the Millhaven Institution federal maximum-security prison in Bath near Kingston, Ont.
"Omar Khadr was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen. As a Canadian citizen, he has a right to enter Canada after the completion of his sentence," Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said. :This transfer occurs following a process initiated by the United States Government and determined in accordance with Canadian law." He said he's "satisfied" Corrections Canada can safely administer Mr. Khadr's sentence.
Mr. Khadr has six years remaining on his eight-year prison sentence, but under Canadian law, he could be eligible for parole as early as the summer of 2013.
One of Mr. Khadr's Canadian lawyers, Brydie Bethell, spoke with him Saturday morning shortly after he touched down in Canada.
"He's very happy. He is relieved. This is obviously a huge day for him," she said. "There's no question that the wait has been extremely painful for him, but he's dreamt of this moment for a very long time – for over a decade."
Mr. Khadr was n Millhaven's assessment centre and had a cell to himself. He'll be there while Corrections Canada decides where he should serve his sentence. While single-cell accommodation is Corrections Canada's standard, about 86 per cent of the inmates at Millhaven's assessment centre share cells built for one.
Ms. Bethell, who will meet with Mr. Khadr in person later Saturday, says she has no idea where that might be. The assessment process can take as little as a day or as long as several months.
"For his own security, that would make sense [to put Khadr in a maximum-security facility] but on the other hand there's no need for him to be placed in maximum security. He's been a model inmate in Guantanamo. Ask any guard," Ms. Bethell said. "If Omar's feeling insecure, that's something the Canadian government has created ... by using every opportunity to demonize him and turn the public against him."
Ms. Bethell said wouldn't speculate on whether he parole would be granted. "All that we've been thinking about and working towards is this very day – and it's the same for Omar: This is just the most momentous day of this kid's life."
Mr. Khadr found out Wednesday evening he would be brought back to Canada within the next few days, the Pentagon source said.
His U.S. military lawyer, Lieutenant-Colonel Jon Jackson, is also flying to Canada and is expected to be in Toronto later Saturday.
Mr. Khadr's family got the news watching television Saturday morning. A man answering the phone at a home where several friends and family members had gathered said the news had come as just one more shock to Mr. Khadr's grandparents, who "can't handle this stuff."
Now 26, Mr. Khadr was 15 when he was captured by U.S. officers after an Afghan firefight. He spent several weeks in U.S. custody in Bagram, Afghanistan before being transported to Guantanamo. He was charged with numerous terrorism offences, including the murder of U.S. Sergeant Christopher Speer.
Mr. Khadr pleaded guilty in October, 2010 under a plea agreement that gave him an eight-year sentence with one year to be spent in the U.S. detention centre and the remainder in Canada. While Ottawa agreed to this at the time, Mr. Khadr's lawyers have accused Mr. Toews of stalling as almost two years passed and Mr. Khadr remained in Guantanamo Bay.
Mr. Toews, in whose hands the decision to repatriate Mr. Khadr rested, had said earlier that Ottawa had to do its due diligence to ensure Mr. Khadr could safely return. This involved reviewing footage from a psychological assessment of Mr. Khadr by U.S. psychiatrists Michael Welner and Alan Hopwell. In his formal decision to repatriate Mr. Khadr, dated Sept. 28, Mr. Toews said Canada "was advised by officials of the U.S. government that CSC [Correctional Services Canada] would be provided with a copy of the videotape" when Mr. Khadr made his formal application to come back to Canada. According to Ottawa's narrative, it was U.S. foot-dragging, not Canada's, that delayed Mr. Khadr's return.
But the delay irked the U.S. administration, which hoped to use Mr. Khadr's plea deal as an example for other inmates to follow. Instead, leery at the lack of movement in Mr. Khadr's case, some were reluctant to agree to plea deals of their own. “Clearly, if the government can’t carry through on their end of the bargain, it has a chilling effect on the willingness of others to plead,” Marine Colonel Jeffrey Colwell, chief defence counsel for military commissions, told the Miami Herald in July. “Certainly there was an expectation by all parties involved that Khadr was going to be home last fall.”
In the repatriation decision, Mr. Toews cites five issues of concern regarding Mr. Khadr's return. These include Mr. Khadr's idealization of his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, a close associate of Osama Bin Laden who was killed in Pakistan; his mother and sister's approval of terrorist activities; Mr. Khadr's terrorist training and the likelihood Mr. Khadr will need "substantial management" to aid his reintegration into Canadian society.
But the most notable concern is "Mr. Khadr's experiences in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Guantanamo Bay and the degree to which they have radicalized him." Fears around the possibility that spending years in the U.S. naval base detention centre, especially as its youngest detainee, would radicalize Mr. Khadr have been behind calls for him to be brought to Canada earlier.
Despite these concerns, Mr. Toews said he's satisfied Corrections Canada and the Parole Board of Canada can "administer Mr. Khadr's sentence in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed ... through appropriate programming during incarceration and, if parole is granted, through the imposition of robust conditions of supervision."
Ms. Bethell slammed Mr. Toews's characterization Saturday of Mr. Khadr as a dangerous felon in need of special consideration or security measures by Corrections Canada. "There's no basis in reality to this idea," she said. "For a politician to try and tell an expert corrections official how to do their job, that would be unusual, to say the least."
The news of Mr. Khadr's imminent arrival came as somewhat of a surprise to his lawyers: Lt-Col. Jackson was flying to Toronto Saturday in preparation for cross-examination arguments next week as part of Mr. Khadr's lawyers' attempt to convince a court to force Mr. Toews to make up his mind. Ms. Bethell said she found out Mr. Khadr was returning before Saturday, but wouldn't elaborate.
A Pentagon source told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Khadr departed from the U.S. naval base before 4:30 a.m. Saturday aboard a U.S. military plane.
That plane landed at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., about three hours later. A shackled Mr. Khadr was then put in a van and driven away with an Ontario Provincial Police escort, CTV news reported. He was taken to the Millhaven Institution federal maximum-security prison in Bath near Kingston, Ont.
"Omar Khadr was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen. As a Canadian citizen, he has a right to enter Canada after the completion of his sentence," Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said. :This transfer occurs following a process initiated by the United States Government and determined in accordance with Canadian law." He said he's "satisfied" Corrections Canada can safely administer Mr. Khadr's sentence.
Mr. Khadr has six years remaining on his eight-year prison sentence, but under Canadian law, he could be eligible for parole as early as the summer of 2013.
One of Mr. Khadr's Canadian lawyers, Brydie Bethell, spoke with him Saturday morning shortly after he touched down in Canada.
"He's very happy. He is relieved. This is obviously a huge day for him," she said. "There's no question that the wait has been extremely painful for him, but he's dreamt of this moment for a very long time – for over a decade."
Mr. Khadr was n Millhaven's assessment centre and had a cell to himself. He'll be there while Corrections Canada decides where he should serve his sentence. While single-cell accommodation is Corrections Canada's standard, about 86 per cent of the inmates at Millhaven's assessment centre share cells built for one.
Ms. Bethell, who will meet with Mr. Khadr in person later Saturday, says she has no idea where that might be. The assessment process can take as little as a day or as long as several months.
"For his own security, that would make sense [to put Khadr in a maximum-security facility] but on the other hand there's no need for him to be placed in maximum security. He's been a model inmate in Guantanamo. Ask any guard," Ms. Bethell said. "If Omar's feeling insecure, that's something the Canadian government has created ... by using every opportunity to demonize him and turn the public against him."
Ms. Bethell said wouldn't speculate on whether he parole would be granted. "All that we've been thinking about and working towards is this very day – and it's the same for Omar: This is just the most momentous day of this kid's life."
Mr. Khadr found out Wednesday evening he would be brought back to Canada within the next few days, the Pentagon source said.
His U.S. military lawyer, Lieutenant-Colonel Jon Jackson, is also flying to Canada and is expected to be in Toronto later Saturday.
Mr. Khadr's family got the news watching television Saturday morning. A man answering the phone at a home where several friends and family members had gathered said the news had come as just one more shock to Mr. Khadr's grandparents, who "can't handle this stuff."
Now 26, Mr. Khadr was 15 when he was captured by U.S. officers after an Afghan firefight. He spent several weeks in U.S. custody in Bagram, Afghanistan before being transported to Guantanamo. He was charged with numerous terrorism offences, including the murder of U.S. Sergeant Christopher Speer.
Mr. Khadr pleaded guilty in October, 2010 under a plea agreement that gave him an eight-year sentence with one year to be spent in the U.S. detention centre and the remainder in Canada. While Ottawa agreed to this at the time, Mr. Khadr's lawyers have accused Mr. Toews of stalling as almost two years passed and Mr. Khadr remained in Guantanamo Bay.
Mr. Toews, in whose hands the decision to repatriate Mr. Khadr rested, had said earlier that Ottawa had to do its due diligence to ensure Mr. Khadr could safely return. This involved reviewing footage from a psychological assessment of Mr. Khadr by U.S. psychiatrists Michael Welner and Alan Hopwell. In his formal decision to repatriate Mr. Khadr, dated Sept. 28, Mr. Toews said Canada "was advised by officials of the U.S. government that CSC [Correctional Services Canada] would be provided with a copy of the videotape" when Mr. Khadr made his formal application to come back to Canada. According to Ottawa's narrative, it was U.S. foot-dragging, not Canada's, that delayed Mr. Khadr's return.
But the delay irked the U.S. administration, which hoped to use Mr. Khadr's plea deal as an example for other inmates to follow. Instead, leery at the lack of movement in Mr. Khadr's case, some were reluctant to agree to plea deals of their own. “Clearly, if the government can’t carry through on their end of the bargain, it has a chilling effect on the willingness of others to plead,” Marine Colonel Jeffrey Colwell, chief defence counsel for military commissions, told the Miami Herald in July. “Certainly there was an expectation by all parties involved that Khadr was going to be home last fall.”
In the repatriation decision, Mr. Toews cites five issues of concern regarding Mr. Khadr's return. These include Mr. Khadr's idealization of his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, a close associate of Osama Bin Laden who was killed in Pakistan; his mother and sister's approval of terrorist activities; Mr. Khadr's terrorist training and the likelihood Mr. Khadr will need "substantial management" to aid his reintegration into Canadian society.
But the most notable concern is "Mr. Khadr's experiences in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Guantanamo Bay and the degree to which they have radicalized him." Fears around the possibility that spending years in the U.S. naval base detention centre, especially as its youngest detainee, would radicalize Mr. Khadr have been behind calls for him to be brought to Canada earlier.
Despite these concerns, Mr. Toews said he's satisfied Corrections Canada and the Parole Board of Canada can "administer Mr. Khadr's sentence in a manner which recognizes the serious nature of the crimes that he has committed ... through appropriate programming during incarceration and, if parole is granted, through the imposition of robust conditions of supervision."
Ms. Bethell slammed Mr. Toews's characterization Saturday of Mr. Khadr as a dangerous felon in need of special consideration or security measures by Corrections Canada. "There's no basis in reality to this idea," she said. "For a politician to try and tell an expert corrections official how to do their job, that would be unusual, to say the least."
The news of Mr. Khadr's imminent arrival came as somewhat of a surprise to his lawyers: Lt-Col. Jackson was flying to Toronto Saturday in preparation for cross-examination arguments next week as part of Mr. Khadr's lawyers' attempt to convince a court to force Mr. Toews to make up his mind. Ms. Bethell said she found out Mr. Khadr was returning before Saturday, but wouldn't elaborate.
Labels: Canada/US Relations, Crime, Crisis Politics, Immigration, Islamism, Multiculturalism, Terrorism
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