Court Rules Ottawa Must Seek Khadr’s Return

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling ordering the government to seek the return of Omar Khadr from a U.S. military prison.

In a 2-1 judgment Friday, the court dismissed an appeal by the Harper government, which did not want to ask that Khadr be sent home.

Khadr, 22, is being held by the Americans at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan seven years ago.

The Federal Court of Canada ruled in April that the Conservative government must ask the United States to return Khadr “as soon as practicable.”

It said Canada’s refusal to request his repatriation offends fundamental justice and violates Khadr’s constitutional rights to life, liberty and security of the person.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted that the ruling was a “split decision,” but refused to speculate whether the government will appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“The Department of Justice will be examining that decision and obviously I won’t be commenting until we see their analysis and their recommendations,” he said in Chelsea, Que.

Previously, Harper has said Canada would wait and see what the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama does in Khadr’s case.

U.S. military court proceedings initiated against Khadr four years ago remain up in the air.

Successive governments, both Liberal and Conservative, have refrained from intervening in the Khadr case. The Tories have rejected a growing chorus of calls to deal with him on Canadian soil.

Documents show Khadr’s American captors threatened him with rape, kept him isolated and deprived him of sleep.

Canadian officials questioned Khadr at Guantanamo and shared the results of their interrogations with the Americans.

In Friday’s ruling, the appeal court said the principles of fundamental justice do not permit the questioning of a prisoner to obtain information after he has been subjected to cruel and abusive treatment to induce him to talk.

“Canada cannot avoid responsibility for its participation in the process at the Guantanamo Bay prison by relying on the fact that Mr. Khadr was mistreated by officials of the United States, because Canadian officials knew of the abuse when they conducted the interviews, and sought to take advantage of it,” the majority ruling said.

Public release of a video in which a teenaged Khadr cries for his mother sparked an international uproar last year.

In May 2008, the Supreme Court ruled Canada had taken part in a foreign process that breached its international human rights obligations.

The Khadr family has gained notoriety for apparent longstanding ties to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Omar’s father, Ahmed Said Khadr, was a purported extremist and financier for the terror network. He was killed by Pakistani forces six years ago.

A brother, Abdul Karim, was left a paraplegic from wounds suffered in the shootout.

Omar Khadr (L) sits during a pre-trial session in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on December 12, 2008. (Artist Drawing by Janet Hamlin-Pool/Getty Images)