GUANTANAMO BAY: Omar Khadr turned down plea deal

Submitted by crinadmin on


[GUANTANAMO BAY–Military prosecutors offered a sentence of five years in a U.S. prison to Canadian detainee Omar Khadr if he pleads guilty to war crime offences, the Toronto Star has learned.

Sources close to the case who spoke to the Star on the condition of anonymity said the offer was turned down, clearing the way for pre-trial hearings...

It is uncertain whether the proposed sentence would have meant that the Toronto-born detainee would have stayed here – if Guantanamo’s prison remains open – or have been transferred to a U.S. federal penitentiary.

His lawyers say they will push for Khadr to return to Canada.

Khadr’s defence team would not talk about negotiations but confirmed that they have spoken with prosecutors and were “open to any possibilities that would resolve this case”...

Prosecution spokesperson Capt. David Iglesias declined to answer questions as to whether there were discussions between Khadr prosecutors and Guantanamo’s Convening Authority – the Pentagon official who could approve any such deal.

Khadr, now 23, is charged with five military commission offences, including “murder in violation of the laws of war,” for the death of Delta Force soldier Christopher Speer.

The detainee was shot and captured in Afghanistan in July 2002 and has spent nearly a third of his life at the prison here.

Khadr’s prosecution is set to become the showcase trial under the Obama administration, reportedly causing discomfort in Washington and dividing the president’s legal advisers.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted Khadr’s case in criticising the U.S. for not applying “international standards of juvenile justice” traditionally afforded child soldiers...

[Source: The Toronto Star]

Read blog updates from Amnesty - Canada on the trial of Omar Khadr in the US. Khadr was 15 when he was arrested by U.S. forces in Afghanistan, making him the first child combatant ever to be brought before a court for alleged “war crimes”
http://www.amnesty.ca/blog_post2.php?id=1623

Further information

Association: Toronto Star

Country: 
Japan

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.