Omar Khadr

[Cleisthenis]

From www.cbc.ca, "'You don't care about me,' Khadr sobs in interview tapes ":

A teenage Omar Khadr sobs uncontrollably as Canadian spy agents question him at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in a brief video excerpt released via the internet early Tuesday morning.

The 10-minute video is of poor quality and the voices are often inaudible, as it was never intended to be viewed by the public. But it shows the Toronto-born Khadr, 16 at the time, being interviewed by Canadian Security Intelligence Service officials over several days in late February 2003.

The excerpt is from five formerly classified DVDs consisting of 7½ hours of questioning that took place six months after Khadr was captured following a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan. Khadr, who is a Canadian citizen, has been held at Guantanamo Bay for six years on charges that he killed a U.S. soldier during a firefight in Afghanistan.

The tapes, made public under a court order obtained by Khadr's lawyers, offer a rare glimpse of interrogations of Guantanamo detainees and of Khadr, now 21.

The U.S. Defence Department granted special permission to CSIS and Canada's Foreign Affairs Ministry to question Khadr after he was brought to Guantanamo Bay.

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I must admit that I haven't followed this story very closely since it broke, but it definitely touches on a number of issues I care about, such as the rule of law and the vagueness of the "enemy combatant" definition.

I haven't watched the video yet but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this case...

[Mondo]

None of the above.

Get him freed and leave him alone.  He shot someone in combat, that isn't a crime.  There is no such thing as an "illegal combatant".  You're either a civilian or a soldier.  If you have a gun and are shooting, you're a soldier.  At least in terms of a war. 

Found this quote:
"He is accused of throwing a grenade that killed an American soldier during an assault on himself and four other militants in a collection of mud huts that involved over 100 US soldiers and allied militiamen, two Apache helicopters, two F/A-18 Hornets, and two A-10 Warthogs. After the aerial bombardment, only Khadr and one other militant was alive. Khadr was seriously wounded, losing sight in one eye from shrapnel, and was shot twice in the back. He was 15 at the time. He is being "tried" as an adult at Guantanamo because he turned 16 before being moved there from Bagram Air Base."

[Cleisthenis]

Thanks Mondo, and I think you're absolutely right. I didn't really know the details about the case, as mentioned, but after reading a bit more, I've updated the poll and changed my vote accordingly.

Cheers.

[Raos]

I couldn't agree more, Mondo.  The travesty that Kadr has endured with the complicity of our government is appalling to say the least.

[Cleisthenis]

Here's a really interesting article on cbc.ca that's well worth a read if you've got 5 or 10 minutes:

Legal options
The Khadr case
What lies ahead for Omar Khadr?

[Raos]

From that article:

Experts say there are just too many obstacles standing in the way of trying Khadr in Canada, most notably that the charges against Khadr are highly unique to U.S. military law and that there are no equivalent charges under Canada's Criminal Code or War Crimes Act.

When a Canadian citizen is getting charged for something they could not be charged with under Canadian law, especially when the purported offender was a minor and not even in a region under the jurisdiction of the foreign country detaining and charging him, the Canadian government has a responsibility to do what it can to protect that citizen and bring them home.  Any single aspect of his situation, from his age to the torture to the situation of his supposed offense, should be sufficient for him to be brought home from this nightmare.