April 23, 2012 | The Ottawa Citizen

Government was Right Not to Rush Omar Khadr Home

April 23, 2012 | The Ottawa Citizen

Government was Right Not to Rush Omar Khadr Home

This week, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews announced that Toronto-born terrorist Omar Khadr could be brought back to Canada. The government has been criticized for not moving faster to repatriate Khadr. It has also been accused of “hypocrisy” in actively lobbying for clemency in the cases of Hamid Ghassemi-Shall and Saeed Malekpour who are facing execution in Iran, while delivering more minimal assistance to U.S. death-row inmate Ronald Smith.

It seems to me that a distinction can be made between a death sentence for a murder conviction in a Western democracy and a death sentence for a vague charge of espionage or crimes against Islam in a country that flagrantly and systemically violates human rights. In other words, the nature of the crime committed and the soundness of the foreign legal system in which a person is convicted must be taken into account.

Such factors may enhance our ability to evaluate Canada’s relatively weak efforts in bringing Khadr home.

Khadr pleaded guilty in 2010 to all five charges levelled against him, including the murder of Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer in Afghanistan, attempted murder, conspiracy, spying and providing material support to terrorism. Khadr described his support of al-Qaeda and his involvement in the construction and planting of IEDs with the intent to kill as many Americans as possible.

Some have defended Khadr on the grounds that he was only 15 years old when he committed his crimes, and that participation in such activities could be attributed to his growing up in a self-described al-Qaeda family. That Omar had the misfortune to be surrounded by such profoundly bad familial influences is tragic and should surely be taken into consideration.

But it is equally important to note the following: Not every Khadr child felt compelled to follow in the family’s footsteps; Omar’s brother Abdurahman has denounced his family’s terrorism. Canada’s legal system recognizes that young offenders convicted of serious crimes can receive adult-length sentences. Khadr acknowledged that on the day of his capture, U.S. forces had given him and his comrades, as well as the women and children in the compound, an opportunity to surrender. The latter accepted and were escorted to safety by American soldiers. Khadr, in contrast, did not consider himself a child and stayed behind to attack soldiers whom he admitted were not coming to kill him. And critically, Khadr was found by forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner not to display the characteristics of a typical child soldier. For instance, he was never drugged into submission, he did not suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, and he did not express remorse for his actions. Khadr was described not as a scared child, but rather as intelligent, self-serving, manipulative, and brazen.

Khadr was also deemed dangerous as a radical jihadist by Dr. Welner, who regularly assesses the risk of recidivism in prisoners being considered for release. Compounding this troubling assessment is the absence of adequate de-radicalization programs in this country to minimize the chance of Khadr’s recidivism when released onto Canadian streets.

But should Khadr be brought home because nobody deserves to be held in Guantanamo Bay? Khadr’s accusations of torture (which al-Qaeda members are trained to claim) were not found to be credible. Guantanamo has been brought into compliance with the Geneva Conventions, and human rights organizations have described conditions there as superior to those in most U.S. prisons. Prisoners receive three Halal-certified meals a day that are inspected to ensure proper temperatures, freshness and hygiene. Extra servings are always available, and special dietary requirements — including Ramadan fasting schedules — are accommodated. Tutoring, movie nights, a basketball court, a library, and other entertainment are provided. Prisoners have better access to psychological and medical care than many Americans. (This is a far cry from Evin Prison, where Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was beaten, raped, and killed in 2003, and where Ghassemi-Shall and Malekpour are currently being held.)

Nevertheless, it is not surprising that Omar Khadr will be brought back to Canada. All other Westerners have already been repatriated from Guantanamo. There has always been discomfort about Khadr’s age. Rightly or wrongly, Guantanamo has become a symbol for everything that has gone wrong in the war on terror. And Khadr has many supporters in Canada who have become a vocal constituency.

Fair enough. But the Canadian government should be forgiven for not rushing to repatriate a remorseless convicted terrorist under the custody of American officials, while actively urging clemency for Canadian citizens in Iran.

Sheryl Saperia is director of policy for Canada at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

 

Issues:

Afghanistan