Khadr has grown, changed: lawyers

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This article was published 22/06/2012 (5226 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — As with many young people, Omar Khadr, convicted child terrorist, enjoys The Hunger Games and Romeo and Juliet — and is no longer a threat to society, his lawyers argued Thursday as they called on the federal government to act on his request to be transferred home to Canada.

In an event on Parliament Hill, Khadr’s supporters attempted to allay public concerns about his eventual release from Guantanamo Bay.

Eight months after Khadr became eligible for a transfer to Canada from the U.S. prison established in the aftermath of 9/11, he remains shackled to the floor in a solitary cell, his lawyers said. He occasionally receives lessons in science, math, English, geography and even constitutional law from them, they added.

Khadr’s Canadian and U.S. legal teams say the 25-year-old should be preparing for life after prison back in Canada, and argue Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has had more than enough time to live up to his government’s promise of repatriation.

They say even U.S. officials are growing irritated over the delay.

“The Canadian government has consistently failed to live up to its obligations to Omar Khadr. While Omar, a child, was trapped in a place that has been condemned around the world, the government stood idly by and said simply, ‘We will let the process run its course.’ Well, that process has now long run its course,” Toronto lawyer John Norris said.

“We call on the minister to approve the transfer immediately and to bring Omar Khadr home.”

Norris said he received a written response from the government Wednesday, hours after the legal team had issued a public notice of its news conference. Toews had told reporters he’d made no decision about Khadr’s return; the letter Norris received said the matter was still “under consideration.”

Government sources say it takes, on average, nine to 10 months to process a request once an application is “officially” received, depending on the nature of the case.

While Khadr’s lawyers have said it’s been about a year since the transfer request was made, Toews’ office only confirmed in April a request had finally reached the minister’s hands.

— Postmedia News