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October 26, 2010

Canadian Citizen Detained at Age 15 Pleads Guilty to War Crimes
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In news from Guantánamo, a Canadian citizen who has been detained by the
US since he was fifteen years old has pleaded guilty to five war crimes
charges. As part of a plea deal, Omar Khadr will serve a reduced
sentence, much of it in Canada. Khadr was detained eight years ago in
Afghanistan. Human rights groups have condemned the Bush and Obama
administrations’ handling of the Khadr case. Khadr’s trial was set to be
the first under the Obama administration’s revised military commissions
system. It also would have been the first war crimes tribunal anywhere
since World War II to prosecute someone for acts allegedly committed as
a juvenile. Khadr’s defense attorney Dennis Edney said a plea deal was
the only way to get Khadr out of Guantánamo Bay.

Dennis Edney: "We looked at the circumstances, and it’s our clear
opinion that Mr. Khadr is an innocent man, and Mr. Khadr was put into a
hellish conflict, where he continues to remain in this hell hole that
has a record, internationally, of abuse, where he is prepared to subject
himself to a process that’s not legal or go home."

The military tribunal’s chief prosecutor, Navy Captain John Murphy,
dismissed claims by human rights groups that Khadr should be seen as a
victim.

Capt. John Murphy: "And Omar Khadr, over and over again, repeated, 'Yes,
that is correct. I did that. I am a murderer. I am an al-Qaeda
terrorist.' What you saw puts a lie to the longstanding argument by some
that Omar Khadr is a victim. He’s not. He’s a murderer, and he is
convicted by the strength of his own words."



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