Omar Khadr—a boy, now man, whose legal saga has triggered fierce debate among fellow Canadians—has spent his final night behind U.S. bars.
Early this morning, the Toronto-born 26-year-old was escorted onto a U.S. military plane, bound for an unspecified Canadian jail.
Khadr was eligible to apply for a prison transfer last year, but bureaucratic delays on both sides of the border had held up the process.
What happens next is not clear.
Khadr, who pleaded guilty to five war crimes, including the battlefield murder of an American soldier in Afghanistan, has six more years left to serve on his sentence. But under Canadian law, he will be eligible to apply for parole in June.
Senior writer Michael Friscolanti spends a lot of time at crime scenes and courthouses. The author of 'Friendly Fire: The Untold Story of the U.S. Bombing That Killed Four Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan', he has won three CAJ Awards for investigative journalism and three silver National Magazine Awards.
Omar Khadr had the supreme misfortune of being raised by Canada’s worst parents, absolutely insane criminals who brainwashed him and took him from a safe place and into a war zone. His mother should have been arrested and incarcerated instead of her poor son. And his treatment after capture has been just as criminal since it’s been done by supposedly civilized governments. And stop calling Khadr a war criminal. He was a child soldier, which by definition means a victim of abuse by adults and so not responsible at all for what happened.
Omar Khadr had the supreme misfortune of being raised by Canada’s worst parents, absolutely insane criminals who brainwashed him and took him from a safe place and into a war zone. His mother should have been arrested and incarcerated instead of her poor son. And his treatment after capture has been just as criminal since it’s been done by supposedly civilized governments. And stop calling Khadr a war criminal. He was a child soldier, which by definition means a victim of abuse by adults and so not responsible at all for what happened.
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