Khadr’s lawyer makes final push to have charges dropped
OTTAWA — Omar Khadr’s U.S. military defence lawyer will try this month to have charges against his client tossed out – launching what may be the final legal broadside against the U.S. government before the detained Canadian’s trial is expected to start in October.
Lieutenan
t-Commander Bill Kuebler has filed three motions with the Guantanamo Bay military commission seeking dismissal of charges based on what the military lawyer describes as exertion of “unlawful influence” over the commission.
One of the three motions relates to a Guantanamo manual that advised interrogators they could destroy notes containing “interrogation information.” Lt.-Cmdr. Kuebler said that after he made that information public in June, lawyers from the U.S. Department of Defense’s general counsel directed prosecutors to “claw back” the documents, preventing their use as evidence.
“Based on statements by prosecutors about the existence of a “gentleman’s agreement” between the prosecution and other agencies, this appears to be part of a practice of systematic interference by outside agencies in the military commission discovery process,” Lt.-Cmdr. Kuebler said in a statement Monday.
Lt.-Cmdr. Kuebler is also alleging, in separate motions, “excessive interference” by a senior military official in the prosecution of commission cases and “the sudden and unpersuasively explained” removal of the military judge overseeing the proceedings, who was replaced earlier this year.
Mr. Khadr faces several charges before the military commission, including murder. The charges stem from a 2002 Afghan firefight during which Mr. Khadr is alleged to have thrown a grenade that fatally wounded a U.S. soldier. If convicted, Mr. Khadr could be sentenced to life in prison.
The Conservative government has so far refused to attempt to bring Mr. Khadr home, despite increased pressure from myriad human rights, political and legal groups.
Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson reiterated that position in an interview with CTV’s Question Period this weekend.
“I’ve been tested and baited in the House … to change Canadian policy on a number of consular cases, the Khadr case is one of them,” he said. “But I have discovered that it would be a very stupid, neophyte foreign minister, indeed, that made any assumption that this was a simple matter.”
Even though previous Liberal governments also did not act to bring Mr. Khadr home – indeed, Conservative government officials have repeatedly said their position is no different from the previous government – documents obtained by The Globe and Mail show that, shortly after Mr. Khadr was transferred to Guantanamo Bay in late 2002, the Department of Justice carefully considered the possibility of bringing the Canadian home and prosecuting him under Canadian law.
In a 2003 briefing note obtained by The Globe through an Access to Information request, the Attorney-General of Canada is advised not to comment on the case publicly. However, in the note’s “background” section, officials point out that Canada has extraterritorial jurisdiction to prosecute certain criminal offences, including terrorism offences, alleged to have taken place overseas. But in the case of an individual who is under 18 at the time such offences are alleged to have taken place, the provisions of the Young Offenders Act would also apply.
“If a detainee were transferred to Canada, any decisions regarding the applicable legal proceedings that may be available in respect of the detainee’s conduct outside of Canada would be dependent upon the nature of the evidence available and admissible in a Canadian proceeding to determine if their [sic] was a reasonable prospect of conviction as well as an assessment as to the public interest in proceeding with a prosecution,” the briefing note states.
“Prior to the Attorney-General being called upon to make such determinations, a criminal investigation by domestic police forces would have to be completed.”
Mr. Khadr is expected to appear in a Guantanamo court later this month at a pretrial hearing, where his lawyers will present the three motions to dismiss charges.
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August 5th, 2008 | Category: Angel/Attorney, Detainee, Guantanamo, Kangaroo Kourt, Omar Khadr
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August 9th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Hypocrisy of the “Repatriate Omar Khadr to Canada” Movement
As soon as the Gitmo interrogation tape of Omar Khadr hit the Internet, the blogosphere was flooded with demands to repatriate him to Canada. This wave is reminiscent of a Soviet campaign to free Luis Corvalán from the “fascist regime” of Augusto Pinochet thirty five years ago. The scenario is strikingly similar. A “victim” held by “fascist regimes” this time run by Bush and Harper, and a public outcry for justice. Except for the fact that Luis Corvalán didn’t kill anyone and didn’t fight for a terrorist group that wants to impose Sharia.
The “repatriate Khadr” crowd describes him as “a child”, “a kid”, “a boy”, and even “a torture victim”, with no facts to substantiate the torture claims notwithstanding. They complain about Khadr being mistreated, again, without anything to back up their claims. Some of them are outraged about “child abuse.” And they all scream for justice.
They want justice? OK, let’s talk about JUSTICE. What about justice for Sgt. First Class Christopher J. Speer, who was (according to an eyewitness) murdered by this “child”? What about justice for Tabitha Speer, who is a widow because of this “kid”? What about justice for Taryn and Tanner Speer, who are left without a father by this “a boy”? And what about all those Afghani civilians and NATO troops who are a little bit safer because this “torture victim” is behind bars? How many of these “repatriate Khadr” hypocrites concern themselves with justice for real victims? In literally hundreds of posts, we couldn’t find a single one.
One would ask, what is the reason for this idiocy? The answer is simple. Ignorance. Complete and utter ignorance. Let’s forget for a second that Omar Khadr killed Christopher Speer. Let’s forget that Khadr’s father was an al Qaeda financier. Let’s forget that Khadr’s family is known for it being al Qaeda sympathizers. Let’s just remember what this “child” was fighting for in Afghanistan.
This is what Taliban-imposed Sharia looks like in real life: http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2000/07/hypocrisy-of-repatriate-omar-khadr-to.html
Why don’t all of you, bleeding heart demagogues go to Afghanistan and spend a day in a Taliban-controlled territory? And let’s talk about Khadr when you get back. If you get back.