Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

Edmonton Judge Rules Omar Khadr's Sentence Has Expired

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Mar, 2019 05:14 PM

    EDMONTON — An Alberta judge has ruled that a war crimes sentence for former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Omar Khadr has expired.


    An eight-year sentence imposed in 2010 would have ended last October had Khadr remained in custody.


    But the clock stopped ticking when a judge freed him on bail in 2015 pending Khadr's appeal of his military conviction in the United States.


    Chief Justice Mary Moreau says the Youth Criminal Justice Act gives judges flexibility to consider bail conditions as part of a sentence.


    She told an Edmonton court Monday that, with that in mind, she ruled Khadr has served his time.


    The Supreme Court of Canada had already said the punishment handed Khadr for alleged acts committed in Afghanistan when he was 15 years old was to be a youth sentence.


    Khadr's lawyer Nathan Whitling had argued earlier this year that Khadr had served more than seven years in custody and on bail.


    The Crown had argued Khadr should serve the remainder of his sentence in the community.


    Whitling said the appeal of the sentence in the U.S. hadn't moved forward at all and it would be unfair to use that against his client.


    Whitling also argued that the military commission that sentenced Khadr has been widely discredited by legal experts.


    Khadr spent years in U.S. detention at Guantanamo Bay after he was captured and accused of tossing a grenade that killed special forces soldier Christopher Speer at a militant compound in Afghanistan in 2001.


    Since his release on bail, Khadr has lived in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., without incident. The court had eased some of his initial bail conditions, but several remained in place.


    Khadr could not have access to a Canadian passport and was banned from unsupervised communication with his sister, who lives in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. He also had to notify his bail supervisor before leaving Alberta.

    Moreau said all the conditions are lifted.


    Khadr's case has ignited divisive debate among Canadians over terrorism, human rights and the rule of law since it was revealed in 2017 that the federal government settled a lawsuit filed by him for a reported $10.5 million.


    The payout followed a 2010 ruling by Canada's Supreme Court that Khadr's charter rights were violated at Guantanamo and that Canadian officials contributed to that violation.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Brampton’s Indian Family Unable To Identify Family Members During Trip To Ethiopia

    The family said Sunday that during their trip to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, they were unable to identify their family members as they'd hoped.

    Brampton’s Indian Family Unable To Identify Family Members During Trip To Ethiopia

    Trudeau Fills SNC-Triggered Cabinet Vacancy With Vancouver MP Joyce Murray

    OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau turned Monday to erstwhile leadership rival Joyce Murray to fill the second void in his cabinet triggered by the SNC-Lavalin affair.    

    Trudeau Fills SNC-Triggered Cabinet Vacancy With Vancouver MP Joyce Murray

    Speed A Factor In Deadly Early Morning Crash In Metro Vancouver Say RCMP

    COQUITLAM, B.C. — RCMP in Coquitlam, B.C., say speed likely played a part in a fiery fatal car crash early Monday morning.

    Speed A Factor In Deadly Early Morning Crash In Metro Vancouver Say RCMP

    New Zealand Shootings Will Prompt Careful Gun Review In Canada, Goodale Predicts

    OTTAWA — The federal public-safety minister suggests the deadly mass shooting in New Zealand will spur parliamentarians to take a careful look at Canada's gun laws.

    New Zealand Shootings Will Prompt Careful Gun Review In Canada, Goodale Predicts

    B.C.'s Poverty Reduction Plan Seeks Solutions From Across Government: Minister

    The British Columbia government has released guidelines it says will lead it toward the goal of reducing the province's overall poverty rate by 25 per cent and child poverty by 50 per cent within the next five years.

    B.C.'s Poverty Reduction Plan Seeks Solutions From Across Government: Minister

    Operations Largely Back To Normal At Toronto'S Pearson Airport After Fire

    Operations Largely Back To Normal At Toronto'S Pearson Airport After Fire
    Travellers were advised to check their flight status today before heading to the airport, which is Canada's busiest.

    Operations Largely Back To Normal At Toronto'S Pearson Airport After Fire