Omar Khadr has been incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay since he was 15, for more than a quarter of his life. He has the dubious distinction of being the youngest detainee at the U.S. military prison and also the last Western citizen to be held there.
Accused of throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier, Khadr faces numerous charges, including murder. He was captured in Afghanistan in July 2002 and has been held in Guantanamo Bay, without trial, since then.
Earlier this year, Senator Romeo Dallaire called for the Canadian government to get Khadr out of Cuba. Like others, Dallaire says the debate over bringing Khadr back to Canada should begin and end with the fact that he is a Canadian citizen who was 15 years old when the alleged murder took place.
Journalist Michelle Shephard has been following Khadr's case for years. In her new book, Guantanamo's Child: The Untold Story of Omar Khadr (John Wiley & Sons), she examines his roots in Canada, Pakistan and Afghanistan and his life in a family dubbed "Canada's First Family of Terrorism," surrounded by al Qaeda’s elite.
Shephard is the national security reporter for the Toronto Star. During her 10 years in journalism, she has won two of Canada’s top newspaper awards: the National Newspaper Award for investigations and the Governor General's Michener Award for public service journalism.
The Current’s host Anna Maria Tremonti spoke with Michelle Shephard in Toronto. Shepherd talked about the challenges of writing a book on someone she hasn't been permitted to meet, Khadr’s upbringing in Toronto’s suburbs and Pashawar, Pakistan, and the influence of his father, the notorious Ahmad Said Khadr.
First aired April 1, 2008 on The Current. [runs 21:42]
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Comments
The fact that he was only 15 when captured by the Americans is by it's self reason to bring him home. Even if he was brain washed and did commit the crime, he doesn't deserve to be held in the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison. The fact that the Liberals and now the Conservatives have allowed a Canadian child to be held there and tortured is unbelievable. As most other areas in the American's 'Fight against terrorism', this was an illegal action and just plain wrong. I really hope Mr. Harper would show Canadians he has as much patriotism for Canada as he does the United States and fight to get Omar back home where he can have a fair trial and not a charade in Cuba. If he does this, he will have my vote.
Posted by: Kevin Brooks | September 5, 2008 09:09 AM
These are different times; Canada as with the US is at War in Afghanistan. Omar Khadr is not a terrorist, he is in fact an enemy combatant he lost all privileges when he shot his pistol, and threw the grenade and killed an allied soldier. I do not care to have this piece of garbage here, if he gets out when he has his trial here what will he do next? It is not your safety I am concerned about to all you bleeding heart lefties out there, it’s my family that I am concerned about. Mr. Harper you have my support, and my vote..........Was it just not yesterday that 3 more of our country men were killed again by insurgents...like Omar Khadr. What is an insurgent...they are foreign fighters from other countries that CHOOSE to fight on foreign soil........they are not nationals of that country...so drop all this crying for this piece of poop.
Posted by: Richardj | September 5, 2008 11:08 AM
Khadr is a terrorist. He fought in civilian clothes and murdered an unarmed American medic -- which is a war crime. When Khadr was shot in the firefight, a U.S. Commander ordered one of his soldiers to give Khadr blood to save his life. We saved his life, and we treat him humanely. He is not tortured. He is handled with kid-gloves. In fact, in Gitmo, he is treated better than prisoners are treated in the United States. Detainees in Gitmo receive 12 hours of recreation time a day, have an extensive library and gym, can take classes in English or their native language, are allowed 20 minutes of uninterrupted time to pray five times a day, etc., etc. I was on the prosecution team. I served in Gitmo and I've written a book about Gitmo and the trials. Only, unlike this author, I was there. I am a soldier/lawyer. Read my book, Honor Bound: Inside the Guantanamo Trials (Carolina Academic Press, June 2008), if you want to know the truth about Gitmo. It is available on Amazon.
Kyndra Rotunda
Posted by: Kyndra Rotunda | September 5, 2008 02:05 PM
According to Michelle Shephard, the US has done nothing but mistreat Omar --- I guess the US soldiers that saved his life (even after he likely killed a US medic) are not to be praised, right ?
Omar was brought up to be a terrorist weapon by his family and she refuses to put the blame on the Al Queda supporting Khadr family for what he has done. She seems to agree with Al Queda and blame the US for everything wrong that happens (even responsible for what Omar did).
Posted by: Paul d'Haene | September 5, 2008 03:11 PM
Enough is enough about this terrorist.A 15 year old can kill you just asdead as anyone else.I joined the service underage and knew full what I was doing. Ithink it is time to let him stay in US custody and let them handle it as it was one of their troops who was killed by this individual who is now hiding behind his age with the support of every one who only looks at his age at the time the incident happened. Pay the price.
Posted by: fedup | September 5, 2008 04:25 PM
the only problem with the comment about about bringing him home is, Canada is not his home. He is Canadian for convenience only. Just like the rest of family. Use Canada a safe haven when terrorism goes bad. Fry him.
Posted by: Russ Avison | September 5, 2008 05:06 PM
Omar Khadr deserves this punishment, he was 15, I am sure by this age they can distinguish between right and wrong. Since he chose to do wrong I see no reason why the Canadian government should allow a terrorist a safe passage back home. If he can't do the time, why in god's name would he even think about assaulting Allied forces?
Posted by: William Ho | September 5, 2008 10:08 PM
Omar Khadr is not a terrorist until and unless he has been judged so in a court of law, regardless of what others might say about him.
To accuse someone of terrorism without any first hand knowledge or proof is to sink down to the exact same level of those you say you're fighting against; al Qaeda and the Taliban.
You can't have it both ways.
Posted by: fetechef | September 5, 2008 10:14 PM
Why some many are whining for the fate of a “CANADIAN” who was captured during the fight against the value our soldiers are dying for?
Posted by: CZ | September 5, 2008 11:02 PM
Terrorism today is defined by the colour of your skin and the God you worship. Christian children who fight as child soliders and kill Americans are deemed as "rehabilitable" yet, Khadr, who in definition is a child solider is not.
He must be brought back to Canada for a fair trial and until he is, we as Canadians should NOT be condeming other countries for their human rights abuses when we have this going on in our own backyard.
Posted by: Janessa | September 5, 2008 11:19 PM
If he really did all the terrible things that he is accused of, then why not bring him home and charge him with murder and anything else that you can make stick. The reason he is in Guantanamo and not a jail stateside is perhaps because they don't want to or can't make anything stick.
Another admitted child soldier - Ishmael Beal - has written a book about his experience that included killing, raping and pillaging. He's been on talk shows and has done a book tour.
Why the double standard?
Posted by: Anne Ominous | September 6, 2008 12:17 AM
I'd like to see the whole lot of Khadr family removed from Canada as they simply abuse the freedon bestowed.
Posted by: GMAC | September 6, 2008 01:40 AM
I hope that he stays in Gitmo for the rest of his life and never sees Canada again. His Mother and sister said that Canada is full of "gays and whores". The only reason that they are here is becasue they get free medical care for their other son. They are hypocrites and should have their Canadian passports and other benifits of Canada removed from them. We are suckers if we give a damn about this crazy family or any of the terrorists that are part of it.
Posted by: New West Frank | September 6, 2008 02:34 AM
Michelle Sheppard has been on a one-person crusade to free this terrorist.She ,like the lawyers involved,refuses to face the hard basic facts .Let us see what 0ctober 8th brings.The last thing these people want is the trial to go forward.Let us see what the direct evidence shows,not the obfuscations that are being thrown about.
Posted by: flipper | September 6, 2008 11:05 AM
I am very sorry to see that readers keep repeating the same unsubstantiated allegations -- that Khadr threw a grenade, that Khadr fired a pistol.
The USA has repeated these, and other unsubstantiated allegations -- as their case unravels.
We now know that US prosecutors have tried to get away with a series of disgraceful bald-faced lies about the skirmish and Khadr's role in it. We now know, for instance, that he was not the sole occupant of the compound to survive the American aerial bombardment. We now know he was already severely wounded, when the Americans entered, and that no one saw him fire a weapon or throw a Grenade. We now know that Major Randy Watt recorded in his after-action report the next day that the grenade thrower was KIA. We now know Watt later forged his after-action report to say the grenade thrower was merely "engaged".
I urge other readers to bear in mind the US prosecutor's long history of deceit, and to hold back from repeating their unsubstantiated allegations as if they were established facts.
Posted by: arcticredriver | September 6, 2008 04:49 PM
Whether he was a “young offender” is irrelevant by the fact that the crime was committed in another country other than Canada. He committed murder, was caught and his life saved by his enemies and now is a POW. The Canadian government is doing the right thing and not interfering with the U.S military's right to proceed with their form of justice. Furthermore, how many suicide bombers are children? Where is the line drawn for the public’s safety? If he was brainwashed by Islamists and committed this crime in another country it is not the responsibility of Canadians and our government to defend him.
Posted by: James Lahey | September 9, 2008 03:42 AM
To the CBC: Regarding this story about Omar Khadr, and all CBC stories, I have noticed that the majority of your readers who make comments on these posts do not seem to feel the need to become even reasonably well informed about the issues they are commenting on, and they rarely preface their comments with some indication that they are aware of this. This would be fine if they were all just having a few drinks at a bar. But in a more public, and presumably more intellectual, forum such as this I wish you would edit their comments at least for decency of language.
Your readers cannot help their intelligence level, or the effects of their upbringing, any more than Omar Kadr can, so I accept these people as my neighbours but the overwhelming proportion of mean-spirited uninformed comments makes this forum unhelpful at best.
To the readers who have posted comments on this article: I hope some of you will consider studying the research we currently have on the effects of early childhood experience, and then examine your own priviliged upbringings, before you make comments on stories such as these. But you probably won't. That's how powerful genetics and upbringing are!
To Omar Kadr: I hope you're given a chance to become a positive contribution to the world, just as Ishmael Beah was. Just as many of us have been.
Posted by: S. Scott | September 20, 2008 11:37 AM
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