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Child Soldier, Omar Khadr, Pleads Guilty in Plea Agreement
A Canadian prisoner in Guantanamo Bay has pleaded guilty to killing an American soldier while he was a young teenager as part of a deal that will allow him to avoid a war crimes trial.
Khadr's defense team say he was pushed into fighting the US by his father, said to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Human rights defenders have criticised Barack Obama, the US president, for seeking to prosecute Khadr. Omar Khadr on Monday pleaded guilty to five charges, including
murder, for throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan
in 2002. He was just 15 at the time of the incident, which occurred
during a fierce firefight at an al-Qaeda compound in Afghanistan.
Khadr, now 24, also admitted to planting improvised explosive devices and receiving weapons training from al-Qaeda. His defence lawyers say that because Khadr was a child when the offences occurred, he should not be tried for war-crimes.
The exact terms of the plea deal were not immediately disclosed, but Khadr is due to be sentenced by a military jury in several days. The sentence they impose is bound by the plea deal.
Khadr would be allowed to trasfer back to his native Canada after serving a year of his sentence as part of the deal, the military judge in charge of the case said.
Trial criticised
The US has argued that Khadr, who was badly wounded during the fighting, is a war criminal because he was not a regular solider. But his case has long outraged opponants to Guantanamo, who say he was a child soldier and was subjected to mistreatment while in US custody.
Khadr's defence team say he was pushed into fighting the US by his father, said to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Human rights defenders have criticised Barack Obama, the US president, for seeking to prosecute Khadr.
"It's particularly galling that a president who promised to restore human rights is beginning the first trial here with a child soldier who was abused for years in US custody and was taken to a war zone by his dad," Jennifer Turner, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who is at Guantanamo to observe proceedings against Khadr, said.
Many of Obama's supporters have been angered by his failure to close Guantanamo, despite promising to do so in his campaign and ordering the government to do so as one of his first acts as president.
Around 170 prisoners are still being held at Guantanamo. Congressional opposition to its closure, and difficulty in finding countries to take the men held there, has stalled Obama's plan to close the prison.
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38 Comments so far
Show AllGee, another one for the United States of Predators, with the encouragement and approval of the Predator-in-Chief.
Whatever I might think of Sarah Palin, her quip, "Well, how do you feel about that hopey-changey thing now?" was a masterstroke of where it is for so many of us who supported Mr. Phony.
Omar Khadr, may the time pass swiftly; may you not be harmed any further; may your heart be healed of all the horrors of this situation; may you live a long life working toward preventing what happened to you and all the reasons for it.
/cm
This is justice? We imprison a 15-year-old boy away from his family, torturing him for nine years, and then we give him a choice: lifetime imprisonment if he insists on proclaiming his innocence, or one more year of U.S. imprisonment followed by eight or so years in jail in Canada in return for a "confession."
Luckily, Khadr understood that the fix was in, has always been in, and he had to take what he could get.
Omar Khadr, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for what my country has done to you.
It's been proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that torture works.
Does this now mean that the Iraqi and Afghanistan governments can now charge US soldiers with murder too? How is it murder when you are defending yourself from attack? he didn't come the the US - the US went to Afghanistan. So if anyone should be charged with murder it would be the Americans who are doing this killing.
cedross, such a great point. And I am sure it is lost on most braindead people here in the US including the phony in chief.
If we were invaded and locked up for defending ourselves, we would think we had been transplanted to the twilight zone. Just like these guys must. It shouldn't be my shame to bare since I am so against all this invasion and murder and slaughter, but I am ashamed to be an American. Part of a country that has done nothing but murder since the beginning of it's inception. I think the US should have been aborted.
I am especially ashamed of those that we put our trust in with our bogus election that are all criminally insane and in it for the power and money. SHame on the US
This unjust plea bargain deals another blow to international law.
I don't blame the man for wanting the torture to stop. Make no mistake, he's still being tortured by his captors. Though they might be making sure not to leave any more marks on him. He could have gone thru a kangaroo court and be sentenced to a thousand years of hard tortu - uhh labour - or plea to get another 8 years in jail.
The shame of it is that this will let the CCRAPs in ottawa rant that the us justice system works, and that a very very dangerous man has been properly chastised for the actions for which he was charged. Heck of a job tories, heck of a job...
What a cowardly stupid nation to keep a 15 year kid in their gulag for 9 years and then making him sign a plea agreement so at least he can get the hell out of the place. "They hate us for our freedoms."
Khadr's not going anywhere. He will spend the next eight years in Guantanamo or some other U.S. hell-hole, because the vicious and morally bankrupt Canadian government will never allow him to be repatriated before his full sentence is served.
Damn! Was hoping he could hold out, but I suppose a fake "trial" just isn't worth it.
My sentiments exactly, RV.
This outcome is another appalling, horrific tragedy to be tossed on the monstrous mountain of appalling, horrific tragedies sown by the imperialist, terrorist United States of Amerika and its vaunted Rule of Law.
And now stay tuned for the gleeful affirmations that "the system worked". After all, who would plead guilty if they weren't really guilty?
I hope Mr. Khadr finds some peace, although he will never be "free" from his villainous captors for the rest of his life.
The U.S. kangaroo court judge had ruled that "evidence" obtained during U.S. torture of Omar Khadr was admissible.
Canada's role in the abuse of Omar Khadr is despicable also. The Canadians showed up to interview Khadr, who is a Canadian citizen, after he was brought to Guantanamo. " You Don’t Like the Truth: 4 Days Inside Guantánamo" is the chilling documentary that has just been made about what took place. You can see the trailer, here:
http://www.torontolife.com/daily/hype/cinemania-hype
/2010/10/20/omar-khadr-
documentary-looks-into-csis-interrogation-at-guantanamo-bay/
For a good summary of the tragic story of Omar Khadr:
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/detainees/cases/khadr.aspx
Thanks for the link. I was aware of the CSIS and RCMP roles, but the truly horrific and more generally ominous portent IMO has been the Canadian government's almost total disregard for the rulings of its own Supreme Court. Very disturbing precedent.
"The US has argued that Khadir, who was badly wounded during the fighting, is a war criminal because he was not a regular soldier."
>>So does this mean that all those MERCENARIES, I mean, Private Security Contractors in Iraq & Afghanistan, who've done any murdering, I mean, killing, are also war criminals because they are not regular soldiers?
Answer me that!
When it's for our side, and they're motivated by MONEY, we call them, "Private Security Contractors," and it's okay for them to kill.
When it's for their side, and they're motivated by IDEOLOGY, we call the "Unlawful Enemy Combatants," and it's not okay for them to kill - whether to kick out the invaders (us), or to defend themselves, or their families, or...
Sort of like in Central America a while back, where those who were "with us," such as the right-wing "death squads," were called: "Freedom Fighters," and those who were "against us" were called: "Leftist Insurgents" .... or other derogatory and vilifying terms..
Omar's lawyer said he would have pleaded guilty to killing JFK..
A pawn caught between two political gears. What a sham..
Have you got a cite for this? I'm astounded that his lawyer would be allowed to comment.
Somewhere on your computer screen is a box where you can type in search words, then press return, and you will see a screen full of possible answers for your search. You can click on each of these possibilities and see what you find.
If you use the search words "defense lawyer Omar Khadr confessed to killing JFK" for example, you would find, among other possible answers, this:
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/25/omar-khadr-trial-resumes.html
Why are you astounded that Khadr's lawyer was allowed to comment? We still have a tiny bit of freedom of speech in this country.
Thank you. Leftfielder did it below.
The lawyers for Guantanamo prisoners are under severe restrictions as to what they can say about their clients, the evidence, the proceedings, and just about everything. What I think is happening here is that the guy is Canadian...and the US doesn't know how to deal with that...the Canadians are still so far behind us on some things.
Think about what happened here. Khadr admitted specifically to each charged 'crime'. By making him say "yes, he committed murder and all the rest", Parrish and Murphy were forcing him to perjure himself...which he apparently did on the advice of counsel. Wouldn't the government want to put a tight lid on that? If there is any element of freedom of speech here, I think it's because the government was so afraid of the trial (not the outcome...the appearance) that they lowered their standards on this one just to get the plea. Remember John Walker Lind(?) and the Aussie whose name I can't remember.
Two Australians, Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks, have been held at Guantanamo. Habib was finally released without charge in 2005. Hicks was subjected to U.S. military kangaroo court proceedings, forced to plead guilty, and transferred to Australia.
from http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/sep2010/habi-s16.shtml :
Guantánamo Bay prisoner Mamdouh Habib...was released without charge from Guantánamo Bay and repatriated to Australia. The government, which publicly branded the Australian citizen as a “dangerous terrorist,” actively collaborated in Habib’s illegal detention by Pakistani, Egyptian and US authorities from October 2001 until early 2005.
Arrested by Pakistani authorities in October 2001, just after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US, Habib was sent via “extraordinary rendition” to Egypt. In April 2002, he was transferred to Bagram airbase in Afghanistan and a few weeks later to Guantánamo Bay where he remained until early 2005 when he was released without charge.
Habib was tortured in all three countries. This included beatings, electric shocks, sleep deprivation, pepper spray, drugs, and water-boarding. Phillip Ruddock, the attorney general, claimed that he knew nothing about Habib’s rendition to Egypt in late 2001 and infamously declared that sleep deprivation was “not torture”.
Habib is one of hundreds of people illegally detained and tortured as part of the US-led “war on terror”. Amnesty International, the International Red Cross and numerous other human rights organisations have condemned Guantánamo and called for its closure. US President Obama claimed that he would close the infamous prison if elected in 2008 but nothing has changed. More than 170 people are still incarcerated in the facility in violation of their basic rights, the Geneva Conventions and international law.
Another Australian victim is David Hicks, who was arrested by the US military in Afghanistan and then illegally transferred to Guantánamo. Hicks was tortured during his imprisonment and told that unless he pleaded guilty to various crimes before a US military court he would remain imprisoned for years. After being convicted in a kangaroo court in Guantánamo, he was transferred to an Australian prison in May 2007 and eventually released in December, more than five years after he was seized in Afghanistan. Hicks and Habib have both been subjected to intelligence surveillance and media harassment since their release.
Hicks it was who I was talking about. I believe the Australian government is trying to steal (prevent the culprit from profiting) the proceeds from the book he is having published.
It is good that we in the English-speaking world offer such a beacon for humanity.
Get a Job
CBC this afternoon
I'm afraid we haven't seen the worst of it. Wait until they tell us what restrictions have been placed (and will be enforced) on Khadr's speech, association and movement even after he completes his sentence. It will make what Israel has done to Mordacai Vanunu seem like gentle, well-meaning advice. And I'm sure his "defense team" (whatever that is)will be totally gagged on pain of loss of licensing and imprisonment (because, after all, what if one of them got disgusted enough to leave the profession?)
Actually, they'll probably make the terms of the gag-orders (or shall we say agreements?) top-secret, and revelation punishable under the espionage act, PATRIOT act, and any other act Obama wants.
In terms of impeachment, is Clarence Thomas even in the running?
In at least on instance...the statement by his Canadian lawyer...I have been proven wrong.
The kid was a soldier - volunteer, perhaps, but a soldier. He was engaged in combat - defending against an attack. Axis soldiers spent less time in prison than this kid already has.
The Khadr's are a very unpopular family in Canada. I don't think the Canadian PTB wanted him back; it would have suited them perfectly if he had died of his wounds at Gitmo.
But he didn't - maybe he will in one more year, maybe not. The he and his creepy family become Canada's problem again.
Like him and his family or not, what's been done to him is a grave injustice.
no. He was not a soldier. Even as little as a century ago it was recognized that children who were not yet 18 could put a uniform on but they could not be soldiers.
Of his family, his mother and twisted sister are alive and totally bonkers. His brother is crippled, and his father is dead.
You're damn right the ptb in canada don't want the young man back in canada, and they'd much rather he died rather than 'disgrace' the name of canada.
I agree on your redefinition of soldier. My point was that he was engaged in "legitimate" combat, probably alongside his other lovely relatives, and was not a murderer or war criminal deserving a different category of punishment.
Omar Khadr was a child soldier.
In the recent past, the US has helped rescue child soldiers from Sierra Leone and Uganda. A number of them now live in the US. An interview with two rehabilitated former child soldiers to discuss Omar Khadr can be heard on this excellent CBC podcast:
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2010/10/oct-1810---pt-3-omar-khadr-former-child-soldiers.html
Please listen to what those two very thoughtful people have to say. Be prepared to be shocked. Some of the acts these two naturalized Americans have perpetrated are on par with, if not worse than what Khadr has “admitted” to this morning. Omar Khadr is surely paying for the sins of his father. And his mother. And his sister.
Shame on the Chretien, Martin and Harper governments in Canada and the Bush and Obama administrations in the US for treating Omar Khadr in such a despicable manner.
These young people, Ishmael and Grace, are incredibly articulate and rational (and persuasive) in their arguments.
What did not get addressed in the discussion, though (especially with that frightening yahoo from Vanderbilt) was the flimsiness of the case against Khadr...the dubious evidence, the torture-induced confessions, and whether the charged actions actually constitute crimes. The one point that did get clearly made though, was that Khadr's case is clearly different because the alleged 'victim' was American.
redballoon: As I guess (hope) you are saying, whether his family is creepy or not is irrelevant to his legal situation.
Yet it keeps being brought up in the nauseating editorials in Canadian newspapers. "The infamous Khadr family." Perhaps the morons who write these editorials do not realize that we don't try families any more; we try individuals.
Here is a comment by Khadr's Canadian lawyer as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at the link below. Obviously a travesty.
Edney, in a phone interview with the CBC from Guantanamo Bay, labelled the plea deal "a piece of paper" and said his client "would have confessed to anything, including the killing of John F. Kennedy, just to get out of this hellhole."
"Had Omar refused, then he was faced with an unfair trial based on evidence that would be inadmissible in a real court and the potential of life in prison in Guantanamo Bay," Edney said.
"We supported this decision, and we would have done the same thing with his position."
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/25/omar-khadr-trial-resumes.html#ixzz13PT2qh7R
Did the Khadr family lie on their quest for Canadian citizenship? Were they ever asked about terrorist activities?
If they did lie they can be deported. Deportation of the whole family that support terrorist activity. The mother and sister are a crazy as the father who took his 9 year old to terrorist camp. This is child abuse.
Child soldier kills the US soldier and they call it murder? What has the USA done to thousands of civilians in Iraq and several other countries including Afghanistan? Murderers???????.
Omar never did any of that stuff. He was "badly wounded" that much is true. but it was not "during the fighting". He was discovered in the compound after the airstrike, huddled in a corner, facing the wall. The hero who found him shot him twice in the back. When he got out, the officer in charge was surprised anyone was still alive. But he also figured that since Omar was still alive, he must have thrown the grenade, even though he was discovered far from the scene. He was also subjected to unusually cruel treatment because he had this "killed a u.s. soldier" tag on him.
Rumsfeld told the world the prisoners at Gitmo were the "worst of the worst". then when the bush
administration was pressured into bringing somebody to trial, the three most absolutely horribly worst of the worst they could find were cild soldier Omar, another child soldier, and Osama's fearsome chauffeur.
I am very skeptical about how this young man can be made into a scapegoat.
If a person at the age of 25 turns into a terrorist and tried to kill innocent people, then I say prosecute them and punish them to the full extent of the law.
But if a child is born into a terrorist family and is arrested at the age of 15 and tortured for nine whole years, for goodness sake I say let him go. How can a 15 year old child be considered to be responsible for the abomination known as al Qaeda ? The boy was so young, and in any case the family was responsible for his conditions, not him.
Also, arent confessions under duress supposed to be invalid ? I am surprised the Canadian government is not doing more to make sure this young man does have a fair trial.
The non-closing of Guantanamo is just another example of President Obama "wimping out." I'm sorry. I love President Obama, but he really does need to get some b - l l s.