U.S. judge rejects bid to free Khadr
Last Updated: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 | 12:44 PM ET
The Canadian Press
A U.S. military judge has rejected a bid by defence lawyers to have charges against Canadian Omar Khadr dismissed because he was only 15 at the time he is alleged to have committed offences.
Col. Peter Brownback issued the ruling Wednesday at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where Khadr has been held for more than five years.
Khadr's lawyer, U.S. Lt.-Cmdr. William Kuebler, argued three months ago that prosecuting Khadr contravenes international law, including the Child Soldier Protocol signed by the United States.
The Toronto-born Khadr, now 21, faces life in prison amid allegations he threw a hand grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan during a July 2002 firefight.
He was brought, badly wounded, to the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay in October 2002. He is scheduled to be tried by a military commission on charges that include murder, and is one of only a handful of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to face charges.
Kuebler, who appeared before a Canadian parliamentary committee to plead Khadr's case earlier this week, called Wednesday's ruling an embarrassment for the United States.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Greece passes new austerity deal amid rioting
- Greek lawmakers have approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy, after riots in Athens and other cities left stores looted and burned and more than 120 people hurt. more »
- Quebec town 'heartbroken' after killing of woman, sisters
- A small Quebec town is in mourning Sunday after a Quebec man was charged with killing his nieces and his mother, who were found dead in their family home. more »
- Houston autopsy results withheld by police
- Whitney Houston was found in a hotel bathtub but it'll take weeks to determine precisely how she died, a Los Angeles coroner's official says. more »
- Musicians who died before their time
- The growing list of musicians who have died young. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Greece passes new austerity deal amid rioting
- Greek lawmakers have approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy, after riots in Athens and other cities left stores looted and burned and more than 120 people hurt. more »
- Child rescued from Kosovo avalanche that killed 9
- Rescuers have pulled a child alive from the rubble of a house flattened by a massive avalanche that killed both her parents and at least seven of her relatives in a remote mountain village in southern Kosovo. more »
- Italy cruise ship fuel being pumped out
- Underwater pumping operations began Sunday to remove some of the 1.9 million litres of fuel aboard the Costa Concordia, officials said, nearly a month after the cruise ship ran aground off the Italy's Tuscan coast. more »
- Syria observer mission head steps down
- The Sudanese head of the Arab League's observer mission to Syria has resigned, as the group was to consider a proposal to revive its suspended mission, officials said. more »
Dispatches »
- Inside Egyptian military's business web Feb. 10, 2012 1:51 PM When it got out of the business of war with Israel, Egypt's military got into the business of business. Over and under the table; on and off the books. Even using conscripts as cheap labour. CBC's Margaret Evans found shopkeeping generals rather reluctant to talk shop though.
Connect Newsroom Blog
Siege in Syria, Ship Rescue & The Pickton Inquiry Feb. 9, 2012 8:08 PM We'll talk to a Syrian-American doctor tonight about whether the Assad regime is using medicine as a weapon.
- Pop queen Whitney Houston dies at 48
- Houston autopsy results withheld by police
- Greece passes new austerity deal amid rioting
- Foo Fighters win 5 Grammys
- Carleton University confirms death of student
- Quebec town 'heartbroken' after killing of woman, sisters
- Ultimate Tazer Ball combines shock and soccer
- Manitoba man dies after falling off moving SUV
- Adults-only trade show cancelled in B.C. Bible belt
