Former Guantánamo Inmate Is Granted Bail in Canada
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Version 0 of 1. OTTAWA — A Canadian court ordered on Friday that Omar Khadr, the only Canadian to have been held at the Guantánamo Bay detention center in Cuba, be released on bail pending an appeal of his conviction by an American military tribunal. In 2010, Mr. Khadr pleaded guilty before a military commission to killing an American sergeant, Christopher Speer, with a grenade in 2002 during a battle in Afghanistan that also left Mr. Khadr severely wounded. Mr. Khadr, who is now 28, was 15 years old when he was captured by American forces, and his case raised questions about whether it was appropriate to charge a former child soldier with murder for fighting against military forces in combat. Despite reluctance from Canada’s Conservative government, Mr. Khadr was returned to Canada in 2012 to serve the remainder of his eight-year sentence, and he is now in a prison in Alberta. Another hearing at the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta will determine when he will be released and will set conditions. Friday’s decision noted that the government challenged evidence that Mr. Khadr had been a model prisoner and that he was a “strong candidate” for release. Steven Blaney, the public safety minister, said the government would appeal the bail decision, although that step might not delay Mr. Khadr’s release. |