Close X
Monday, November 11, 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

    Vancouver Police, Other First Responders Train For 'Active Deadly Threat'

    The Vancouver Police Department is working with the city's firefighters, paramedics and emergency communication provider to create what it calls a rescue task force capable of responding to active deadly threats.

    Vancouver Police, Other First Responders Train For 'Active Deadly Threat'

    'Families Torn Apart:' Trucker Jaskirat Singh Sidhu Who Caused Broncos Crash Likely To Be Deported After Sentence

    An immigration lawyer says the truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan is likely to be deported to India right after he serves his sentence.

    'Families Torn Apart:' Trucker Jaskirat Singh Sidhu Who Caused Broncos Crash Likely To Be Deported After Sentence

    Humboldt Broncos Crash: Truck Driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu Sentenced To 8 Years

    The Truck Driver Who Caused The Humboldt Broncos Crash That Killed 16 People And Injured 13 Others Last April Has Been Sentenced To Eight Years. 3  

    Humboldt Broncos Crash: Truck Driver Jaskirat Singh Sidhu Sentenced To 8 Years

    Independent Watchdog To Handle Complaints About Border Agency, Liberals Pledge

    Independent Watchdog To Handle Complaints About Border Agency, Liberals Pledge
    The Liberal government is planning legislative changes to give the RCMP watchdog the additional responsibility of handling public complaints about the Canada Border Services Agency.

    Independent Watchdog To Handle Complaints About Border Agency, Liberals Pledge

    Conservation Group Says Dead Sea Lion Was Found With Gunshot Wound In B.C.

    HORNBY ISLAND, B.C. — A conservation group says a dead sea lion that washed ashore in British Columbia this week had been shot in the head, amid calls from some fishermen for a cull.    

    Conservation Group Says Dead Sea Lion Was Found With Gunshot Wound In B.C.

    Students Raise Concerns About Mental Health Resources At UofT After Suicide

    Students Raise Concerns About Mental Health Resources At UofT After Suicide
    A recent suicide at Canada's largest university has students sounding the alarm about what they perceive as a dearth of campus resources to address mental health concerns.

    Students Raise Concerns About Mental Health Resources At UofT After Suicide