Khadr returns

OMAR Khadr has returned home, raising the ire of those who say his real home is with the world's radical jihadists. Khadr has been a polarizing figure since he was apprehended in Afghanistan in 2002 and charged with murdering a U.S. soldier. He was the only captured combatant -- if that's what he was -- to be charged with murder for a death that occurred during combat.

His status at the time was controversial. The Americans called him an "unprivileged belligerent," meaning he had no right to take up arms, while others said he was a child soldier in need of protection and rehabilitation. For his part, Khadr at first denied killing the soldier, but pleaded guilty to the offence in 2010 under an agreement he would serve the first year of an eight-year sentence in Guantanamo Bay before being sent home to Canada to finish his sentence.

The Harper government dragged its heels in honouring the plea bargain and it didn't disguise the fact it was holding its nose in allowing him back. His application could have been denied on the grounds he was a threat to public safety, or that he was likely to commit a terrorist offence, but it's unclear if those reasons would have survived a legal challenge. The main consideration for the Conservatives seems to have been that the Americans wanted him out.

Correctional officials are now assessing his character and developing a plan for his eventual release, which could happen next year under extensive parole conditions.

It's unknown if Khadr has truly risen above his radical upbringing, but it is certainly possible. One undeniable fact, however, is that he is a Canadian citizen and should be treated with all the rights, privileges and legal obligations of other Canadians.

The case exposed an anti-immigrant prejudice among some Canadians; they should remember there have always been radical elements among newcomers over the centuries, but the vast majority were and are the type who built Canada.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 2, 2012 A8