The news from sources that Omar Khadr has cashed a cheque from the government of Canada for $10.5 million is likely to rekindle the debate raging over the settlement. Two cabinet ministers held a news conference to say the government apologized to Khadr because the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Canadian government had violated his rights under the Canadian constitution and under the Geneva convention. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale refused to confirm a cash payment was made saying provisions of the settlement required confidentiality. Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould drove home the reasons for the settlement.
ListenKhadr was incarcerated for ten years beginning when he was 15 years old in connection with a firefight between U.S. forces and Al-Qaeda.
In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that Canadian officials who participated in the U.S. interrogation of Khadr in Guantanamo had offended “most basic Canadian standards about the treatment of detained youth suspects.” While there, Khadr suffered physical pain, sleep deprivation, isolation, threats and was kept in stressful positions.
Debate rages
The Canadian government settlement has prompted furious debate. Those who disagree with it say Khadr was a terrorist who pled guilty to five war crimes in Afghanistan. But Khadr said he did so in order to get out of Guantanamo Bay and to be sent to a Canadian prison. He has since been released into the care of his lawyer.
In 2015, a court in the U.S. state of Utah ruled that Khadr threw a grenade that killed U.S. Sergeant Christopher Speer and injured another soldier Layne Morris. It ordered Khadr to pay $134 million. Morris and Speer’s widow were planning to seek an emergency injunction in Canada to stop the Canadian government’s payout to Khadr and his lawyer.
Settlement likely sheltered
Now that the settlement has been cashed, it is likely his lawyer has found a way to shelter it, making it more difficult for Morris and Speers to get access to it.
The harm the Supreme Court found was done to Khadr occurred under two previous Canadian prime ministers, but the fallout from this settlement will affect the current administration under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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