Omar Khadr, the former Guantánamo Bay detainee, in Mississauga, Ontario, on Thursday.Credit Colin Perkel/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press
OTTAWA — The government of Canada on Friday formally apologized to Omar Khadr, the only Canadian imprisoned at the United States military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It also said that it had paid compensation to Mr. Khadr, a former child soldier, for violating his rights under Canadian law.
“On behalf of the government of Canada, we wish to apologize to Mr. Khadr for any role Canadian officials played in relation to his ordeal abroad and any resulting harm,” the government said in its apology. “We hope that this expression, and the negotiated settlement, will assist him in his efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in his life.”
When he was captured by American troops in Afghanistan in 2002, Mr. Khadr, 15 years old at the time, was severely wounded. Later, at a military commission, he pleaded guilty to using a hand grenade to kill a member of the United States military during a battle. But Mr. Khadr and his lawyers subsequently said that he had made his plea to avoid being detained indefinitely.
A Liberal Party government was in office at the time of Mr. Khadr’s capture, but the subsequent Conservative government led by Stephen Harper, who was then prime minister, repeatedly characterized Mr. Khadr as a terrorist and made little effort to secure his release.
In 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada sternly rebuked the government. It found that the interrogation of Mr. Khadr by Canadian intelligence officials at Guantánamo “offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects.” Separately, another court, the Federal Court of Canada, also found that the Conservative government had violated Mr. Khadr’s rights by not actively seeking his return.
Mr. Khadr has been a polarizing figure here. He was taken from Canada to Afghanistan by his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, who was thought by Canadian intelligence officials to have been associated with Osama bin Laden. The elder Mr. Khadr was eventually killed by government forces in Pakistan. Other members of his family also publicly offered inflammatory statements that many Canadians viewed as condoning terrorism.
While Mr. Harper sided with Canadians who held such sentiments, Mr. Khadr received support from Canadians who viewed him as a child victim of war, a position generally taken by the courts.
The strong findings in favor of Mr. Khadr in earlier court decisions made it inevitable, said Ralph Goodale, the public safety minister, that the government would have to settle his lawsuit for damages. Neither the government nor Mr. Khadr’s lawyers would disclose the amount. But several Canadian news media outlets reported this week that the amount was 10.5 million Canadian dollars, or about $8.1 million, without being challenged by either party in the dispute.
After announcing the settlement, Mr. Goodale acknowledged that some Canadians would not like having the government pay money to a man they viewed as a terrorist.
But he said that the country could not deny the wrongdoing by its officials.
“You may want to dismiss the rule of law and the Constitution,” Mr. Goodale told reporters in Ottawa. “But if you do that, you are fundamentally undermining the integrity of the country.”
Andrew Scheer, the current Conservative leader, argued that the Canada’s responsibility for Mr. Khadr ended when he was repatriated in 2012. Mr. Scheer told reporters in Calgary, Alberta, that he found the settlement “disgusting.”
In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which appeared to have been recorded before the announcement, Mr. Khadr, who was held in a Canadian prison until 2015, said he hoped the apology would help his efforts to lead a normal life.
“I never was angry or upset about what happened,” said Mr. Khadr, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta, and who said it had been difficult to attend school and find jobs because of his “past reputation.”
Asked about the family of the soldier he killed, Sgt. Christopher Speer, Mr. Khadr said that he was “really sorry for their pain.”
While the settlement is the end of Mr. Khadr’s 15-year legal battle with the government of Canada, he is still not free of the courts.
Two years ago, a United States federal court in Utah awarded Tabitha Speer, Sergeant Speer’s widow, and Layne Morris, a former member of the American military who lost some of his eyesight because of the grenade thrown by Mr. Khadr, about $134 million in a default judgment.
David Winer, a lawyer for the Americans, was in a Toronto court on Friday to set a date for a hearing to order a freeze on Mr. Khadr’s compensation. He declined to speak with reporters.
Many legal experts say it will be difficult for Ms. Speer and Mr. Morris to collect the Utah judgment in Canada or to freeze Mr. Khadr’s compensation.
Jody Wilson-Raybould, the justice minister, said that Mr. Khadr’s story provided two messages for Canada: “Our rights are not subject to the whims of the government of the day,” she said. “And there are serious costs when the government violates the rights of its citizens.”
A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2017, on Page A5 of the New York edition with the headline: Canada Pays Over $8 Million To Man Held at Guantánamo.
Omar Khadr, the former Guantánamo Bay detainee, in Mississauga, Ontario, on Thursday.Credit Colin Perkel/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press
OTTAWA — The government of Canada on Friday formally apologized to Omar Khadr, the only Canadian imprisoned at the United States military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It also said that it had paid compensation to Mr. Khadr, a former child soldier, for violating his rights under Canadian law.
“On behalf of the government of Canada, we wish to apologize to Mr. Khadr for any role Canadian officials played in relation to his ordeal abroad and any resulting harm,” the government said in its apology. “We hope that this expression, and the negotiated settlement, will assist him in his efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in his life.”
When he was captured by American troops in Afghanistan in 2002, Mr. Khadr, 15 years old at the time, was severely wounded. Later, at a military commission, he pleaded guilty to using a hand grenade to kill a member of the United States military during a battle. But Mr. Khadr and his lawyers subsequently said that he had made his plea to avoid being detained indefinitely.
A Liberal Party government was in office at the time of Mr. Khadr’s capture, but the subsequent Conservative government led by Stephen Harper, who was then prime minister, repeatedly characterized Mr. Khadr as a terrorist and made little effort to secure his release.
In 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada sternly rebuked the government. It found that the interrogation of Mr. Khadr by Canadian intelligence officials at Guantánamo “offends the most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects.” Separately, another court, the Federal Court of Canada, also found that the Conservative government had violated Mr. Khadr’s rights by not actively seeking his return.
Mr. Khadr has been a polarizing figure here. He was taken from Canada to Afghanistan by his father, Ahmed Said Khadr, who was thought by Canadian intelligence officials to have been associated with Osama bin Laden. The elder Mr. Khadr was eventually killed by government forces in Pakistan. Other members of his family also publicly offered inflammatory statements that many Canadians viewed as condoning terrorism.
While Mr. Harper sided with Canadians who held such sentiments, Mr. Khadr received support from Canadians who viewed him as a child victim of war, a position generally taken by the courts.
The strong findings in favor of Mr. Khadr in earlier court decisions made it inevitable, said Ralph Goodale, the public safety minister, that the government would have to settle his lawsuit for damages. Neither the government nor Mr. Khadr’s lawyers would disclose the amount. But several Canadian news media outlets reported this week that the amount was 10.5 million Canadian dollars, or about $8.1 million, without being challenged by either party in the dispute.
After announcing the settlement, Mr. Goodale acknowledged that some Canadians would not like having the government pay money to a man they viewed as a terrorist.
But he said that the country could not deny the wrongdoing by its officials.
“You may want to dismiss the rule of law and the Constitution,” Mr. Goodale told reporters in Ottawa. “But if you do that, you are fundamentally undermining the integrity of the country.”
Andrew Scheer, the current Conservative leader, argued that the Canada’s responsibility for Mr. Khadr ended when he was repatriated in 2012. Mr. Scheer told reporters in Calgary, Alberta, that he found the settlement “disgusting.”
In an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which appeared to have been recorded before the announcement, Mr. Khadr, who was held in a Canadian prison until 2015, said he hoped the apology would help his efforts to lead a normal life.
“I never was angry or upset about what happened,” said Mr. Khadr, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta, and who said it had been difficult to attend school and find jobs because of his “past reputation.”
Asked about the family of the soldier he killed, Sgt. Christopher Speer, Mr. Khadr said that he was “really sorry for their pain.”
While the settlement is the end of Mr. Khadr’s 15-year legal battle with the government of Canada, he is still not free of the courts.
Two years ago, a United States federal court in Utah awarded Tabitha Speer, Sergeant Speer’s widow, and Layne Morris, a former member of the American military who lost some of his eyesight because of the grenade thrown by Mr. Khadr, about $134 million in a default judgment.
David Winer, a lawyer for the Americans, was in a Toronto court on Friday to set a date for a hearing to order a freeze on Mr. Khadr’s compensation. He declined to speak with reporters.
Many legal experts say it will be difficult for Ms. Speer and Mr. Morris to collect the Utah judgment in Canada or to freeze Mr. Khadr’s compensation.
Jody Wilson-Raybould, the justice minister, said that Mr. Khadr’s story provided two messages for Canada: “Our rights are not subject to the whims of the government of the day,” she said. “And there are serious costs when the government violates the rights of its citizens.”
A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2017, on Page A5 of the New York edition with the headline: Canada Pays Over $8 Million To Man Held at Guantánamo.
What a shame!
-sailor(Ocean & Mountain);
2017-7-9(#3100@4096)
The Supreme Court has ruled that the government made a mistake in this particular lawsuit, therefore it must pay for that mistake like everyone else…
-littlesweetbean(Café);
2017-7-9(#3103@4096)
IF that's the case, why this deal had to be kept SECRET until the payment was done? Why the Liberals didn't process it in A SUNNY WAY?
-sailor(Ocean & Mountain);
2017-7-9(#3105@4096)
Many Canadians think the government should not pay at all, they're more than welcome to express their opinions, but if you agree that this payment should be made, then "when to pay" is not that important, IMO.
-littlesweetbean(Café);
2017-7-9(#3106@4096)
It's not about when to pay, but about to make the whole process transparent to the public, let the people, especially the families of victims, know ahead of time. Trudeau campaigned for a "sunny way", however he failed to do so. Hypocrisy!
-sailor(Ocean & Mountain);
2017-7-10(#3107@4096)
Trudeau should be charged with treason: Morris
-sailor(Ocean & Mountain);
2017-7-9{6313}(#3102@4096)
Former US Special Forces Sgt. Layne Morris is seen in this undated photos from Afghanistan.(Handout/QMI Agency)
Layne Morris admits the “sneakiness” of the Canadian government to shield Omar Khadr from having his sweet cash settlement being exposed to an American court order felt like another terror attack.
“Like a punch in the face,” Morris said. “We didn’t understand the deal but we didn’t think that the government would do a behind-the-scenes move like that.”
After all, where Morris comes from, the government does not fraternize with the enemy trying to kill their soldiers, let alone reward them with a $10.5-million payout and apology.
“It feels like a dirty deal to me.” said the 55-year-old special forces sergeant, who was there when Omar Khadr threw a grenade that killed fellow Sgt. Christopher Speer.
His wife Leisl made the comparison to Sept. 29, 2012 when Khadr was released from Guantánamo Bay: “It was just as secretive. President Obama moved him in the middle of the night back to Canada and nobody even knew. He sure gets special treatment,” she said.
Morris said that special treatment goes all the way back to Afghanistan when wounded by American army fire he was saved by medics who could have early let him “die like a dog.”
But they were bigger than that. “We were doing our duty honourably,” he said.
Morris wonders just what in the name of good God the government of Canada thinks it is doing right now.
“We were fighting the terrorists. They were the bad guys. Something is really off here,” he said. “I can’t believe any government would get involved in something like this,” he said.
In fact, if it was a solider like himself or Speer who made such a deal with a member of the enemy trying to kill them and their pals, they would end up in jail. “You don’t ever do anything to aid and abet the enemy,” Morris added.
Khadr, on July 27, 2002 was the enemy in Khost province in Afghanistan.
“I am still in shock about this,” Morris said.
He asks “why” so much money?
“Is it going to fund a Harvard education?” he said. “Will it help feed starving refugees around the world?”
Morris says Canadians should ask. It’s their money.
“Is nobody concerned about where that money could end up? I mean, it’s well-documented that Omar Khadr’s father was a chief fundraiser for Osama Bin Laden,” he said. “I hate to be the one to ask but is anybody going to keep tabs on Omar’s movements, now that he has this money? Is anybody going to track where that money is hidden?”
His questions are rhetorical, but legitimate.
“The fact is Chris Speer and myself were fighting with Canadians in Afghanistan. We were alongside the PPCLI (Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry). There was a Canadian flag flying along with the American flag at our base there, so it’s quite a thing that now Canada is giving millions to a guy who would attack a compound where Canadians were serving.”
Canada, he predicts, will regret this dark deal.
“As a general rule, and in every other case that I have ever heard of, you keep money out of the hands of people who build bombs or would throw hand grenades at our soldiers,” said Morris.
The fact that Canada didn’t, he said, raises red flags for him.
“I don’t see this as anything but treason,” said Morris. “It’s something a traitor would do. As far as I am concerned, Prime Minister Trudeau should be charged.”
If he or Speer had done anything similar to what the PM did, he said, they certainly would be.