Canadian imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay is asking for early release
The saga continues. Omar Khadr, the Canadian teenager/convicted war criminal who has spent the past nine years locked inside a Guantanamo Bay jail cell, is applying for clemency—a move that could see him back in Toronto sooner than expected. In October, the now 24-year-old pleaded guilty to “murdering” a U.S. soldier on the battlefields of Afghanistan, and was slapped with an eight-year sentence. As part of his plea deal, Khadr is allowed to apply for a transfer to a Canadian prison after serving one more year at Gitmo, but his lawyers have confirmed that they are now asking the head of the U.S. Office of Military Commissions to shorten his punishment. If approved, Khadr could be allowed to apply for his Canadian transfer before next fall. Ottawa has already said it will not oppose the application.