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May 8, 2015

Fmr. Gitmo Prisoner Omar Khadr Freed on Bail in Canada 
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Omar Khadr, once the youngest prisoner held on terror charges at
Guantanamo Bay, has been released on bail from a Canadian prison. 
The Toronto-born Khadr was detained in 2002 by U.S. forces in
Afghanistan before being transferred to Guantanamo Bay at the age of 16.
Khadr became the first person since World War Two to be prosecuted in a
war crimes tribunal for acts committed as a juvenile. After eight years
at Guantanamo for eight years, he confessed in 2010 to throwing a
grenade that killed an American soldier. His lawyers say his statements
were illegally obtained through torture and cruelty. As part of a plea
deal the United States later allowed his transfer back to Canada. On
Thursday Khadr briefly spoke with reporters after his release.

Omar Khadr: I would like to thank the Canadian public for trusting me
and giving me a chance. It might be some time but I will prove to them
that I am more than what they thought of me. I will prove to them that
I'm a good person."

Reporter: "Omar what do you what the American people to know? Do you
have a message for them?"

Omar Khadr: "I can just say I'm sorry for the pain I caused the families
of the victims. There's nothing I can do about the past but I hope that
I can do something about the future."

Khadr will remain free while he appeals his war crimes convictions in
the United States.

 

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