Legal Commentary

Canadian Court Rules Canada Violated Omar Khadr's Rights

By Jeralyn

Big news today in the case of "child soldier" Canadian Omar Khadr, who was seized in Afghanistan at age 15 and has been held ever since at Guantanamo. He and his lawyers have been preparing for trial by military commission.

The Canadian Supreme Court today ruled Omar is entitled to reports on his detention and interrogation. The Supreme Court of Canada has ordered the federal government to hand over information to alleged terrorist Omar Khadr that it gleaned from interrogation sessions that Canadian agents held with him in 2003.

The ACLU issued this press release (no link yet, received by e-mail):

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled today that Canadian officials violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – analogous to the U.S. Bill of Rights – by turning over interrogation records of Canadian citizen Omar Khadr to the United States. The court reached this result after finding that, at the time Canadian officials interrogated him, Khadr was being detained and prosecuted at Guantánamo in violation of U.S. and international law.

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“Today’s decision by the highest court of Canada makes a clear statement that the legal system under which Omar Khadr was detained and charged was fundamentally unlawful. While the Bush administration continues to argue that the U.S. Constitution doesn't apply at Guantánamo and that prisoners held there don't have the right to challenge their detention in court, the Canadian court's decision is a declaration that Guantánamo is not an island without law. Notably, the Canadian court's decision is based in large part on the Guantánamo decisions that the U.S. Supreme Court has issued over the last four years.”

We've been criticizing the treatment of Omar Khadr since 2004. All of our coverage is accessible here.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on May 23, 2008 (boomark / email).